ECHELON Partners, the Manhattan Beach, Calif.- based investment bank and consulting firm that focuses exclusively on RIA M&A, said Monday that it has hired Mark Bruno, formerly of InvestmentNews, as a managing director to head up its newly formed New York office.
Bruno will focus on providing investment banking, valuation and management consulting services, in addition to managing ECHELON’s research and conferences. Bruno will handle organizational assessment, structure and strategy, helping RIAs with their compensation plans and firm design and to develop continuity plans.
Mark Bruno
“We feel very fortunate to help guide many of the investment and wealth management industry’s leading executive teams overcome vexing challenges and achieve important long-term objectives … be it with valuation, strategic planning, and transaction advisory services,” said Dan Seivert, CEO and Founder of ECHELON, in a statement. “Because we are a research-driven firm, we have a strong foundation from which to provide our services. Mark has always had a similar research-based philosophy, and adds deep industry knowledge, service-specific expertise, and a powerful network of contacts and complimentary experts.”
For the past 12 years, Bruno had been responsible for overseeing a wide range of businesses at InvestmentNews, including its research, content strategy, digital, custom publishing and sales groups. He also played an integral role in the $27.1 million sale of InvestmentNews in 2018.
“I’m looking forward to helping wealth managers build and execute strategic growth plans—and in particular, plans that focus on the linkage between personnel, pay and profitability,” Bruno said.
ECHELON also announced the addition of two analysts to its team: Sam Sphire and Rupert Cox. Sphire joined ECHELON from Brookside Mezzanine Partners and is an alumnus of Boston College. Cox joined ECHELON after completing a successful internship at Intel Corp. Upon graduating from UCLA in June, Cox will be joining the team full time.
