RFG Advisory, the Birmingham, Ala.-based hybrid RIA platform with about $5 billion in client assets, has named Shannon Spotswood, its current president, as its new CEO. Spotswood succeeds Bobby White, who has led the firm since its founding in 2003.
Effective immediately, White will transition to an executive chairman role.
“In this capacity, he will continue to provide guidance and insight, ensuring that the company’s vision and values are upheld as we move forward,” according to a company statement. “Bobby White, the visionary founder of RFG, built the company from the ground up. His willingness to embrace change has been instrumental as we have reinvented ourselves through digital transformation and innovation. Bobby’s leadership has set a strong foundation for the company, and his influence will continue to be felt.”
RFG Chief Investment Officer Rick Wedell will take over as RFG’s president while retaining his CIO duties.
Spotswood joined RFG in 2015 and became president in February 2016. She has led the firm’s day-to-day operations for the last nine years. Before joining RFG, she was a portfolio manager and director of long-only equity strategies for Symphony Asset Management, a San Francisco-based hedge fund. Prior to that, she was an investment banker with Volpe Brown Whelan & Co.
Last year, Spotswood helped the firm attract its first outside investor when it sold a majority stake to Long Ridge Equity Partners, a private equity firm that previously backed Carson Group, before selling its stake to Bain Capital in 2021.
In March, RFG hired Abby Salameh, CAIS’ former chief marketing officer, as its chief growth officer. The firm also added Brendan Frazier, founder of Wired Planning, as its new chief behavioral officer and Kenneth Kim, who previously led corporate development and strategy for FNZ’s North America region, as chief financial officer.
White is the latest industry founder and CEO to step down. Others who have stepped aside in recent years include Randy Long of SageView Advisory Group, Allworth’s Pat McClain and Scott Hanson, Edelman Financial Engines’ Larry Raffone, and Carson Group’s Ron Carson.
