Clearstead Advisors, a Cleveland-based registered investment advisor with over $47 billion in assets under advisement, has named Bradley Knapp as its new president and CEO, succeeding David C. Fulton Jr., who has led the firm since 2014. The change will take effect Jan. 1, and is part of a longstanding succession plan. Fulton will remain on the board of directors.
Founded in 1989, Clearstead was overseeing about $29 billion in assets when private equity investor Flexpoint Ford bought a 60% stake in 2022. The firm has since added a New Mexico trust company, its second trust acquisition, and completed a handful of other additions. The firm serves nearly 300 institutional clients.
Under Fulton’s leadership, Clearstead has grown revenue, earnings, assets under advisement and the number of employees. The firm has completed 11 deals in the past decade. It now has 250 professionals across offices in nine cities.
Knapp joined Clearstead in 2016 as head of the private client group and in 2018, took on responsibility for the trust practice. In 2023, he was named president. Prior to joining Clearstead, he was a senior vice president at Hawthorn.
"Brad is a remarkable leader who has been instrumental to strategic initiatives at Clearstead, including accelerating organic growth through the addition of new channels and holistic service offerings, investing in technology to improve the client and advisor experience, and expanding our geographic footprint through integrating a number of strategic acquisitions,” Fulton said in a statement.
This follows news in October that Clearstead hired Jean Heath to lead national sales for the firm’s advisor solutions offering. Heath was previously a managing director and head of the asset manager network at Envestnet.
In April, the RIA announced the acquisition of Wilbanks Smith and Thomas Asset Management, a Norfolk, Va.-based RIA with about $5 billion in client assets serving individual households, institutions and other financial services firms. That deal was its largest to date.
