With uncertainty around how custodians will service smaller advisors going forward, shuttering the RIA and affiliating with a larger platform seems to be a better option for many sub-$150 million advisors.
The firm has developed a new program to prepare recent graduates and career changers for its formal advisor training program, with an emphasis on financial planning.
During a call with investors, CEO Walt Bettinger dismissed speculation that the firm is interested only in $1 billion-plus RIAs as 'inaccurate, naïve and inconsistent with everything that we have done for the last 25 or 30 years in the RIA space.'
Advisor and OSJ manager Salvatore Dispenziere III will bring over the three advisors in his office as well as three other individual practices he supervises.
While it will still represent the firm’s commitment to the fiduciary model, HighTower’s refreshed branding will focus more on its community of advisors and the holistic wellness of the end clients they serve.
The pace of deals will rapidly escalate this year, even as the size of acquired firms is falling, predicts DeVoe & Co. RIAs and consolidators are leading buyers, as banks seem to be backing away from the market.
It’s not an aggregator, an investment bank or private equity firm. So what has Merchant Investment Management been quietly building for the past three years?
The custodian has relationships with 7,500 registered investment advisors, 4,500 of which have under $100 million in client assets. What's changing, he said, is a move toward specialization based on needs, not assets.
