Chicago-based RIA Hightower on Wednesday announced the launch of Hightower Signature Wealth (HTSW), its first national direct-to-consumer advisory practice, designed as a new advisor channel.
HTSW will unite practices under the Hightower brand and provide enhanced support in operations, marketing, technology and investment management, according to the firm.
This new structure “frees advisors to deepen client relationships and drive growth, while benefiting from consistent standards, scalable infrastructure, and succession-ready career paths for the next generation,” Hightower said in a news release.
The first Hightower practice to join HTSW is Frontier Investment Management, one of the firm’s largest and fastest-growing practices, it said.
Hightower expects more advisors to join early next year.
“When we joined Hightower, we wanted a partner who could fuel our growth while honoring who we are,” said Brian Hattendorf, Managing Partner of Frontier. “Hightower delivered—with scale, collaboration, and unconflicted access to trusted solutions. Signature Wealth is a natural next step, amplifying our reach and delivering a more integrated client experience.”
The new HTSW advisory practice was developed to “complement” Hightower’s existing model and offers an integrated platform.
“Signature Wealth gives us a tangible, scalable way to showcase what sophisticated wealth management looks like,” according to Larry Restieri, CEO of Hightower. “It’s also a feedback loop—bringing innovation and best practices from our community into our center, then pushing them back out to every advisor at Hightower.”
Restieri added, “At Hightower, we’re building the future of wealth management. With the addition of Signature Wealth, we can serve advisors who seek to maintain autonomy as well as those who seek to be part of a unified brand and team.”
The HTSW investment platform is “anchored” by Stephanie Link, Hightower’s Chief Investment Strategist and a CNBC contributor, and supported by a team led by Randy Bullard, according to Hightower.
Hightower announced in September that it appointed Bullard Head of Investment Management, a new position in which he will lead the development of Hightower’s first centralized investment management platform.
The HTSW platform will combine institutional research and investment counsel from Boston-based NEPC. Hightower announced a majority investment in NEPC in October 2024.
Hightower’s network includes advisory practices in 34 states and the District of Columbia. As of June 30, assets under management for the firm and its affiliates totaled $324.3 billion.
Jeff Berman, Contributing Editor and Reporter at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at jeff.berman@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
