RIA Edge

With heightened market volatility and uncertainty significantly impacting client portfolios over the last year, RIAs have been leaning more on alternative investments to present their clients with new sources of return, income and downside protection.  In this episode of RIA Edge, David Levi, Managing Partner at Brookfield and Head of Brookfield Oaktree Wealth Solutions, shares his perspective wit...

The RIA Edge Podcast: One-on-One with AlTi CEO Michael Tiedemann At the start of 2023, Michael Tiedemann and his namesake wealth and asset management firm – Tiedemann Advisors – completed one of the largest and most unique mergers to-date in the wealth management industry. Tiedemann combined his firm with Alvarium Investments and the Cartesian Growth Corp., a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, t...

When Jeff Dekko took the helm at Wealth Enhancement Group, it was a regional player with roughly $600 million in assets. Fast forward to 2023, and WEG is now one of the largest players in the RIA space with more than $60 billion in assets under management and a rapidly growing national footprint.  While WEG has grown considerably through M&A, organic growth has played an important role in the...

While M&A activity levels across the industry have generally cooled in recent months from a record pace, the minority investment market is heating up and continues to re-shape the RIA landscape.    In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Karl Heckenberg, CEO and President of Emigrant Partners, on the rise of minority investors and ho...

Whether you are looking to buy, sell or build a partnership with another company, finding the right fit for your vision is essential. In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Natalie Wolfsen, CEO of AssetMark, and Barrett Ayers, CEO of Adhesion Wealth, on their recently closed merger – highlighting their motivations for the deal, as...

M&A activity has re-shaped the wealth management industry in recent years – but it also accelerating the evolution of the business, and ultimately access to financial advice.  In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Brent Brodeski, CEO of Savant Wealth Management, about the firm’s inorganic and organic growth, as well as...

In reviewing the past year, advisors are looking for more ways to grow their business. How will they take the first step into 2023 with a growth mindset? In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Jim Cahn, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Business Development Officer for Wealth Enhancement Group, about WEG’s M&A strategy — and...

The way advisors market their services has changed over the years, from one-to-one word-of-mouth and cold-calling to mass market approaches across Instagram and LinkedIn. Having more options than ever is inherently good for advisors looking to grow their businesses – but understanding how to appropriately use each platform is a key to successful marketing and business development.  In this e...

With the intense competition for talent in the wealth management industry, leaders of RIAs need to be more strategic than even when developing compensation, talent development and retention programs. In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Brandon Odell, Partner and Director of Business Consulting at The Ensemble Practice, about the evol...

The competition for new and experienced individuals in the RIA channel is at an all-time high. Employees of RIAs have more options and opportunities than ever before — requiring leaders of RIA firms to be acutely focused on the management of human capital, compensation, benefits and retention.  In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks wi...

With markets no longer providing advisers with a wide number of opportunities to grow their assets, RIAs must be truly intentional about how they drive meaningful organic growth.  In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Jalina Kerr, Managing Director of Client Services for Schwab Advisor Services, on creating intentional growth strategie...

RIA mergers and acquisitions have been re-shaping the industry for the last several years. But after years of record deal-making activity, how have the declining market conditions and rising interest rates impacted RIA M&A in 2022? In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Raj Bhattacharyya, CEO of Robertson Stephens, on the latest tre...

The number of advisors looking to execute a succession plan in 2022 has nearly doubled since the beginning of the year, according to the latest RIA Edge Study “Pulse Poll” released in September. What is driving this accelerated shift? In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, Mark Bruno, managing director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Carolyn Armitage, head of Thrivent Advisor Network,...

The RIA industry has experienced a significant amount of growth in recent years – but a handful of firms have found the keys to driving sustainable, long-term growth that will set them up for success in the future? What are the “secrets” to becoming a top-performing RIA? In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Lisa Salvi, Managing Direct...

While M&A has been one of the most dominant themes in the RIA industry over the last several years, the battle for a limited supply of talent might be the defining theme of 2022. With compensation increasing for high-quality talent, a number of firms are finding it easier to acquire talent than it is to hire talent. How will this continue to play out over the course of 2022? In this episode of...

Steward Partners Global Advisory has become one of the largest and fastest growing independent firms in the wealth management industry over the last several years. The firm has accelerated its growth through a unique blend of models for advisors – as well as ownership structure replicated by few other, if any, independent firms with more than 100 advisors.  In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark...

Leaders of RIA firms have a number of strategic options to consider when evaluating organic growth opportunities. When your RIA is part of a broader national tax planning business, however, the opportunities for growing a wealth management business can be plentiful – provided you have the right strategies and processes in place.  In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at...

For the longest time, mergers and acquisitions have been one of the most dominant, if not the most dominant, themes within the RIA channel. During the last quarter, however, the market and economy have changed substantially — throwing potential challenges into the red-hot RIA M&A market.  In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with...

There is a “CEO state of mind” that some leaders of advisory firms have adopted to ensure that growth is front-and-center for all of its team members every day. SVB Private is one of the best examples of this and their growth mindset can provide a blueprint and framework for hundreds of RIAs to learn from.  In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, sp...

While M&A activity gets the majority of the attention in the RIA industry, strategic and sustainable organic growth is actually the secret to success for the industry’s top firms.  The fastest growing and most influential RIAs have a balanced approach to M&A and organic growth. They are always thinking about how the two forms of growth can complement and accelerate one another. Sanctuary W...

While market appreciation, traditional referrals and word-of-mouth marketing has driven growth for a number of RIAs, the industry’s largest and most successful firms are strategically leveraging M&A, digital marketing and data to drive their next wave of growth.  Cressit, the $23 billion RIA based out of Chicago, may be one of the industry’s best examples of how to drive purposeful, scaleable...

When it comes to business growth within the M&A space, you must be strategic in development while acquiring companies that fit your business model. In this episode, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Carolyn Armitage, CFP®, CIMA®, Head of Thrivent Advisor Network, about the key findings from the RIA Edge study, focusing on developments within the M&A in...

Few firms have experienced the growth that Pathstone – one of the largest RIAs in the business — has enjoyed in recent years.  Through a strategic approach to M&A, technology, and socially responsible investing, Pathstone has emerged as one of the most successful advisory firms to ultra-high-net-worth individuals.  In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Infor...

From one small firm in 2011 to a national RIA with 36 offices in 2020, Beacon Pointe has experienced tremendous growth within the industry in a short period of time. Beacon Pointe’s M&A strategy has played a large role in its growth and they have evolved into one of the leading, most active – and most strategic acquirers in the industry. In this episode, Mark Bruno, managing director at...

As organizations grow, employees from top-to-bottom need to be aligned and appropriately motivated — and recruiting new talent will be essential to driving and creating exponential growth.    In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, managing director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Martine Lellis, chief talent and administrative officer with Mercer Advisors, on human capital and ta...