The most popular article on our website in recent memory comes courtesy of Berther Fisher Companies. It brings unique insights to the various ways that up-close-and-personal service is the foundation of a strong, mutually beneficial relationship between a financial advisor and their wealth management firm – something at which smaller firms can excel. The lack thereof at large firms is shown by the many breakaways in this week’s Deals & Recruiting Roundup.
In addition, we bring you our monthly Investments Roundup, as well as cover Snappy Kraken’s enterprise offering, Summit’s equity stake in Meeder Wealth Management, World Investment Advisors hiring a new CFO, NewEdge recruiting almost $5.5 billion in the first half of the year, Crux Wealth Advisors becoming a hybrid RIA, Sanctuary pursuing alts education for its advisors, FusionIQ partnering with interVal on business owner wealth transfers, and expert insights on addressing the priorities of business owner clients.
Investments Roundup: Meet our newest Investment Solutions Leader of the Month, Don Bennyhoff, Founder of Bennyhoff & Co. We also cover LPL expanding its Model Wealth Portfolios platform, Janus Henderson launching an Emerging Markets Debt Hard Currency ETF, Simplify launching a Latin America-focused bond ETF, Goldman Sachs launching muni ETFs and a preferred stock-hybrid securities ETF, VanEck launching an Ethereum ETF, Octane launching an All-Cap Value Energy ETF, AssetMark expanding its Cash Solutions suite, Conway Investment Solutions partnering with Opto, Cerulli reporting on custom asset allocation model portfolios, HFR reporting on July’s hedge fund gains, and the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference.
Deals & Recruiting Roundup: This edition covers Summit Financial investing in Meeder Wealth Management, Crux Wealth Advisors breaking away as a hybrid RIA, Equita Financial Network onboarding three women-led firms, Commonwealth recruiting Krueger Financial, Summit Trail adding advisor Paul Hoskin, Ashton Thomas hiring advisor Cary Carbonaro, CV Advisors hiring Ari Hadida as a Portfolio Manager, NewEdge Wealth recruiting from Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, Sanctuary Wealth partnering with the CAIA Association, Axtella partnering with Sycamore Company, World Investment Advisors naming Kevin Ryan as CFO, and billion-dollar teams exiting Wells Fargo and UBS.
Enterprise marketing: Martech firm Snappy Kraken jumped into the enterprise market with the launch of Snappy Kraken Enterprise, a new growth and marketing platform designed for midmarket and enterprise firms including RIAs and broker-dealers. Founder and CEO Robert Sofia provides comments.
Significant equity stake: Summit Financial Holdings, in partnership with its backer, Merchant Investment Management, announced the acquisition of a significant equity stake in the wealth management division of Meeder Investment Management. Stan Gregor, CEO of Summit Financial; and Bob Meeder, President and CEO of Meeder Investment Management, provide comments.
New CFO: World Investment Advisors named Kevin Ryan as its new Chief Financial Officer. He will report to Troy Hammond, the firm’s Founder and CEO. Ryan previously was the CFO of Xactus, a mortgage industry verification company, and the CEO of Keane, an unclaimed property service provider. Hammond and Ryan provide comments.
Approaching record growth: NewEdge Capital Group reported recruiting nearly $5.5 billion in client assets during the first half of 2024. That puts the organization on pace to exceed its 2023 record of $9.6 billion. Rob Sechan, CEO of NewEdge Wealth; Alex Goss, Co-CEO of NewEdge Advisors; and Neil Turner, Chief Revenue Officer of NewEdge Capital Group, provide comments.
Breaking away: A firm that managed over $3 billion in assets at Raymond James broke away to launch Crux Wealth Advisors as a fully independent hybrid RIA. BNY Pershing will provide clearing and custody services. Arete Wealth will be the broker-dealer and insurance agency for hybrid advisors. Travis Alexander, CEO and Founder of Crux Wealth Advisors; Ben Harrison, Head of Wealth Solutions at BNY Pershing; Joshua Rogers, CEO and Founder of Arete Wealth; and Kevin Geary, Founding Partner of Decerno Advisors, provide comments.
Alts education: Sanctuary Wealth launched its AltVantage Program in partnership with the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association, giving Sanctuary advisors complimentary access to the Fundamentals of Alternative Investments certificate program on CAIA’s UniFi platform. Patrick McGowan, Head of Manager Research and Alternative Investments at Sanctuary; Oksana Poznak, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Sanctuary; and Aaron Filbeck, Managing Director and Head of UniFi by CAIA at the CAIA Association, provide comments.
Great Wealth Transfer: FusionIQ, an end-to-end wealthtech provider, and interVal, a provider of automated financial insights for small and medium-sized businesses, announced a mutual referral agreement aimed at enhancing the technology ecosystem available to advisors serving baby boomers and the Silent Generation. Mark Healy, CEO of FusionIQ; and Trevor Greenway, Co-Founder and CEO of interVal, provide comments.
Business owner clients: Craig Robson, Founding Principal and Managing Director at Regent Peak Wealth Advisors; Drew Jones, Executive Advisor at Modern Wealth Management; and Jason Early, Founder and CEO of RISR, an engagement platform designed to promote growth for advisors and business owners, provide their top three considerations that advisors serving business owners should surface to drive deeper relationships with their clients.
Why size does matter: Paige Swartzendruber, Chief Business Development Officer at the Berthel Fisher Companies, explains why, on the service front, the advantages of working with a smaller firm are not just evident – they are growing. She also explains that it matters both what kind of questions a firm asks advisors, and how often they ask them.
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Larry Roth
CEO
Wealth Solutions Report
