BX Partners is a research-driven investment consulting platform that supports financial professionals by providing AI-enabled methodologies, direct indexing strategies, and risk management tools to curate high-conviction portfolios. It acts as a strategy engine for wealth management firms to enhance portfolio design and scale efficiently. Pulse 2.0 interviewed BX Partners co-founder Craig Cmiel to learn more.
Craig Cmiel’s Background
Could you tell us more about your background? Cmiel said:
“I really grew up in the industry, starting with 10 years at Merrill Lynch in Washington, D.C., where I was a million-dollar producer. I then transitioned with my team to UBS, spending 12 years in roles including producer, branch manager, and complex manager across D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, and North Carolina. Over the past decade, I’ve launched a registered investment advisor (RIA), built a turnkey asset management platform (TAMP), written a book about the industry, and consulted for advisors and money managers, culminating in the launch of BX three years ago.”
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for BX Partners come together? Cmiel shared:
“BX came together to solve a clear gap: advisors needed institutional-quality investment solutions, independent due diligence, and risk tools that actually integrate into how portfolios are built and managed. We wanted BX to be open architecture, modern, and only accept managers that met our rigorous criteria to improve performance.”
The BX Platform
How would you describe BX Partners in one sentence to someone unfamiliar with the company? Cmiel noted:
“BX Partners is an open-architecture investment platform that delivers institutional-quality, independent due diligence, and non-proprietary active strategies to help advisors build better risk-adjusted portfolios.”
BX Platform Approach
What makes the BX platform approach stand out? Cmiel pointed out:
“BX stands out by combining rigorous third-party due diligence, proprietary active indexes, and advisor-facing technology into one unified system. Our top priority is managing drawdowns without sacrificing performance during market uptrends, that is rule #1. It’s much harder to do this, but we believe it’s worth it, and it is what makes us stand out.”
Technology Suite Helping Advisors
How does BX’s technology suite (BX Index, BX Core, BX Risk Shield, BX Advisor App) help advisors and asset managers make decisions in real-world markets? Cmiel described:
“BX Index provides active index building blocks designed for blending, tax management, and alpha generation through concentration. BX Core standardizes proposals and portfolios by delivering streamlined financial planning and custom proposals to advisors and clients in real time. BX Risk Shield delivers real-time market posture to help advisors manage risks, especially drawdowns (rule #1) in a logical, non-emotional way.”
“The BX Advisor App provides users with real-time performance, holdings, and portfolio weightings, giving advisors and clients immediate visibility instead of waiting weeks or months to get these essential insights.”
Risk Management
BX emphasizes systematic, non-emotional risk management. How is that built into your models, tools, and portfolio construction philosophy? Cmiel pointed out:
“We collect highly trusted research and bring it all together for advisors. It’s built into our rules-based models, predefined allocation logic, and objective market signals that remove emotion from portfolio construction and decision-making.”
Due Diligence And Research Partner Selection
How does BX approach due diligence and research partner selection? Cmiel revealed:
“We evaluate thousands of strategies quantitatively across market cycles, selecting only those with a repeatable edge, a defensible investment process, and clearly defined behavioral characteristics.”
Challenges Being Faced
What challenges are advisors and asset managers facing today that most platforms are not solving well? Cmiel detailed:
“Advisors and asset managers today face rapidly changing markets, heightened client expectations, and pressure to deliver consistent results. Most platforms don’t help advisors recognize changing market conditions, adjust portfolios systematically, or clearly explain those shifts to clients. BX addresses these challenges by providing real-time signals, rules-based portfolio tools, and clear communication frameworks that allow advisors to respond confidently and objectively.”
Differentiation From The Competition
How is BX different from the competition? Cmiel affirmed:
“We are all about performance, not fees. BX differentiates itself by combining independent due diligence, proprietary active indexes, and advisor technology into a single platform, enabling advisors to make real portfolio decisions confidently and at scale.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Cmiel cited:
“Some of our most significant milestones include building the BX index universe, launching BX Core and Risk Shield, and achieving verified index outperformance.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Looking ahead, how do you see BX evolving as markets, technology, and advisor needs continue to change? Cmiel emphasized:
“BX’s future goals include expanding the platform to include other liquid asset classes like currencies, hedges products, managed futures and the like, which all add to significant benefits in asset allocation, diversification, and risk management. We will also add more unique managers, enhancing BX Core, and expanding integrations with TAMPs and custodians.”
Final Thoughts
Final thoughts? Cmiel concluded:
“BX operates like an aligned growth officer, helping Chief Investment Officers (CIOs) and advisors create scalability, lower fees, increase usage and revenue, deliver better returns for clients, improve the client experience, and become more compliant in the process … a true business-focused fiduciary.”
