Modera Wealth Management, a fee-only registered investment advisor headquartered in Westwood, N.J., has hired Kirsten Ly as its director of marketing. Ly joins from Hightower, where she served as executive director of advisor growth marketing.
Modera CEO Tom Orecchio said the firm plans to ramp up its marketing efforts next year, so Ly will be a big part of that.
Ly replaces Tracy Clark, who joined Modera in 2023 via its acquisition of Parsec Financial. Clark currently serves in the North Carolina State House for the 57th district, and she recently won re-election.
Ly was originally hired at Hightower in March 2021 when Megan McCartan was promoted to chief marketing officer. McCartan left Hightower in May, and two months ago, Ly posted on LinkedIn that the firm was looking to hire full-time marketing professionals.
In April, Hightower named Gurinder Ahluwalia, the lead director of the firm’s board of directors, president, a newly created position. Ahluwalia is an executive partner in THL's financial technology and services vertical.
This follows news last month that Hightower acquired a majority stake in NEPC, an institutional consulting firm and outsourced chief investment officer.
A Hightower spokesman did not return a request for comment prior to publication.
Modera had about $12 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, according to an ADV filing. The RIA sold a minority stake in the firm to Tria Capital Partners, a financier of RIA M&A and succession planning that is run by former Fiduciary Network partners, in 2021 but remains majority-owned and controlled by the firm’s employees.
