Jim Dickson's RIA venture launched with a bang, but high flying co-founder Mark Penske and industry icon Eric Clarke exit board after Emigrant Partners steps in as minority investor

Jim Dickson and Mark Penske, described by their firm as “wealth management visionaires," co-founded RIA roll up, Elevation Point, with a bang in June 2024.

It launched with the acquisition of Mount Yale Capital Group, a 20-year-old Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) firm with $3.4 billion in assets under management across its network of affiliated advisors.

But after a short, startling track record, amassing $9.6 billion in administered assets in ten months, Penske has suddenly exited from the board along with another high-profile industry insider, former Orion CEO Eric Clarke.

Through the smoke and the haze, the SEC ADV2 has been rewritten at least twice in two months, and questions remain about who is still on the board, who owns the company and who's running it. 

What is known is at least one minority investor, Emigrant Partners, remains bullish on the firm.

“We're very supportive; we love the team; they're the best of the best,” Emigrant Partners Chair and Emigrant Bank Vice Chair Liz Nesvold told RIABiz in an exclusive interview. 

“We've got no time horizon. I'd love to stay invested for a decade-plus,” she adds.

Nesvold's statements suggest the firm is on sound footing despite the upheaval. 

Sorting relationships 

She also shed some light on Penske's role in the firm. “He was never an employee … He has so many major commitments,” she said, describing him as a "co-collaborator" in Elevation's founding.

Penske also never invested his own money to fund the firm's deals, she explained, although he holds an undisclosed equity stake as a reward for his involvement.

Penske's contributions were really important, including the Mount Yale transaction and setting things up. “With Emigrant then stepping in, and other people on the board stepping in,” he's stepping back, she adds. 

Penske and Clarke left Elevation earlier this month. Clarke is back-in start-up mode, after finding the post-CEO life on boards no substitute for the real thing. Penske has yet to offer a reason for his exit. See: Jim Dickson rides again this time with Mark Penske at start-up Elevation Point.

Elevation declined to say whether it has a majority investor, and also declined to say how many directors sit on its board.

Jennifer Connelly, a Penske spokeswoman, declined to say why he exited the Elevation board, but confirmed that he no longer serves on it. She added he maintains a current role based on two factors.

“Mr. Penske is proud of Elevation Point’s growth and success during its inaugural year. He will continue in his role as founding partner and shareholder, fully supportive of the firm, its leadership and the elite partner’s in its pipeline."

Shifted focus

Clarke describes his quick self-hook from Elevation as a tough decision.

Clarke, the founding CEO of Orion Advisor Solutions, only joined Elevation's board June 2 – as did Mike Mikan, former CFO of UnitedHealth Group. See: RIA executives who defined $5.5 trillion, 12-year growth run in RIA biz represent new resource -- 'on-tap' senior advisory talent.

“With my focus shifting toward our new startup, hamachi.ai, I had to make some tough decisions to free up more time," he explains, in an email.

"I really enjoyed working with Jim [Dickson] and his team, but ultimately felt this was in everyone’s best interest.

“Diving back into start-up life has been an absolute blast. It’s energizing to be building something new again!” he adds.

Clarke did not exit his other board seats.

Cash cow logic

Elevation's unusual structure sets it up nicely for the long-term, Nesvold notes. 

The company is a start-up investor in RIAs – the second such business Dickson has founded – but it sits atop Mount Yale Capital, with which it merged in June 2024.

“They're new, but they built a growth engine on the back of a business … Mount Yale, a steady cash flow producer … [then] overlaid Elevation on top … It's a misnomer to believe this is a start-up that's burning cash,” Nesvold says.

“This is the rarest thing I've seen to be able to overlay a startup on top of a mature business … It's a cash cow that the growth engine is taking advantage of,” she adds.

Affiliated with billionaire Howard Milstein's New York Private Bank & Trust, Emigrant took a minority stake in Elevation – and agreed to to help fund its deals – after Nesvold, a long-time business acquaintance of Dickson, brokered a deal last May. See: Liz Nesvold, enters the PE game.

Breakaway score

Elevation has a catnip appeal to breakaway brokers because it offers an apparent high-multiple price for their brokerage practice, recruiters say.  Then, it turns it into an RIA, while giving them the ability to keep remnants of brokerage life that they want. 

Such a structure can create conflicts that are legal under an RIA, but only if specifically disclosed.

That could explain why Elevation published seven “material changes” to its SEC brochure on Friday (Oct. 24) after previous filing the ADV in September. The new filing “reflects new business relationships, compensation arrangements, and expanded service offerings,” according to the ADV.

The newest disclosures center on underlying fees clients pay in addition to Elevation's advisory fee. 

It also discloses to clients that some Elevation advisors EPWP are also brokers through Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments (PKS), a full-service broker-dealer that earns commissions “or other transaction-based compensation … which creates a potential conflict of interest."

Elevation also recently took a minority stake in newly established RIA Family Office Partners in Lafayette, La. after the 12 advisor office broke away from UBS with about $2.5 billion in client assets. 

It was the first deal since selling a minority stake to Emigrant Partners in May and its first breakaway, which immediately prompted a UBS lawsuit that's pending in court. 

Netting a rainmaker

Without Penske, Executive Chair John Sabre, Dickson's rainmaking vision and Mount Yale's solid underpinning, Elevation might never have happened, Nesvold says.

"They were wonderful to be able to convince Jim Dickson – with Mark Penske's guidance – [to] overlay the rocket-ship on top of the cash-cow," she explains.

A former Bear Sterns managing director, Sabre joined Mount Yale in July 2002, serving as its CEO and managing partner until it merged with Elevation.

Prior to Elevation, Dickson spent just under five years at Sanctuary Wealth, first as president, then as CEO of the Indianapolis roll-up, which he founded in May 2018. See: A 20-year Merrill Lynch veteran got Sanctuary Wealth to $10 billion in AUA in 15 months with no outside capital and no time in bed: 'Nobody's slept since April'.

Dickson, a former Merrill Lynch regional manager, left Sanctuary following a dispute he attributes to failed due diligence, and the company attributes to a contract violation.

Penske, the adopted son of former NASCAR racer Roger Penske continues to serve as CEO of New York City investor United Atlantic Capital – a role he has held since its founding in 2004.

New faces

Elevation has moved swiftly to replace both Clarke and Penske, elevating two current executives to its board, Brad Smithy, and Greg Anderson, according to a release.

Smithy joined Elevation as a founding partner and the firm’s head of wealth management in July 2024, after 15 years in executive positions at both Merrill Lynch and UBS. 

Alongside his board seat, he was also named the first president of wealth management.

Anderson, the company’s president of investments, joined Elevation in June 2024, as part of the Mount Yale merger.  He founded the OCIO shop in 1999.

“Elevation Point has an exceptional leadership team with a clear vision for the future. They have Emigrant Partners’ complete confidence and long-term support," Nesvold says.

“As patient capital, we’re proud to back their continued execution on a robust growth strategy that delivers enduring value to advisors seeking independence."