People Moves Related to "The 10 most influential figures in the RIA business going into 2012, Part 2"
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With RIA valuations ticking down and successions ticking up, Focus Financial deep sixes 'drunken sailor' pause, forgoes buyback plan and adds a CEO
Aug 13, 2022CEO Rudy Adolf sees a 'softening' in multiples after a couple of frothy years when CI Financial dominated headlines and big RIA deals
Adam Birenbaum assumes the CEO hotseat at Focus Financial, becoming third chief executive in three years as Michael Nathanson steps down in 'plan' he 'designed'
Dec 13, 2025The 47 year-old St. Louis phenom takes over from the 58 year-old ex-Colony CEO but with the same steep challenge of making 70 autonomous RIA units work more collaboratively, while adding more RIAs.
Startup that feeds RIAs tax data -- directly from the IRS -- has analysts calling it a 'holy crap,' 'game-changer,' and made believers out of Eric Clarke, Ric Edelman and Randy Bullard
Sep 3, 2025TaxStatus Founder Charles Almond has seemingly made the impossible possible -- though questions linger about how long it can hold off competitors and whether RIA clients will sign off on data
Reed Colley is back as Orion's president with the immense task of taking its legacy RIA technology and making it into a dream experience -- with help from data stores and AI
Dec 20, 2024Colley sold Black Diamond to Advent in 2011 and rose to the top, but the challenge is greater this time because he doesn't have the same software tabula rasa, sources say.
The upper RIA echelon mass-exit is now at 25 execs and counting -- for 25 'reasons' -- but it's hardly a coincidence, analysts say
Jun 7, 2024Burnout and EBITDA weigh on CEO-types as never-ending exits claim Ron Carson, Aaron Klein, Bernie Clark, Rudy Adolf, Bill Crager and Tim Buckley.
Adam Birenbaum's calls 'Colony' deal -- to create $100-billion super-RIA -- a 'mandate,' but it's also likely a 'prelude' to larger strategic objective, M&A expert says
May 7, 2024The 46-year-old CEO of Buckingham Wealth's 'long game' approach keeps paying dividends; it comes down to his approach to relationships
Michael Nathanson's new post as Focus CEO could create an 'apparent conflict' with his duties at Colony Group, which is snapping up billions in Focus RIA assets -- but 'partners' now have one of theirs in the power seat
May 1, 2024The CEO of Colony, the $22-billion Boston RIA, is buying $10.4-billion GW & Wade from Focus, making him buyer and seller, as he takes the reins as first permanent Focus CEO since Rudy Adolf.
Joe Duran's second RIA act is rocking with eight staff, four co-founders and a conspicuously anti-United Capital concept that will flip RIA stakes 'eventually' as a minority investor
Nov 29, 2023The United Capital founder paradoxically promises to 'passively' buy minority stakes as a backdrop for going hyper-active with quick-strike capability to apply super-consulting and technology to create explosive growth as a prelude to a sale.
Focus Financial makes 'abrupt' CEO call, lets Rudy Adolf go into 'retirement,' with 'no solution in place;' the eighth RIA chief executive unseated since June as VCs move in -- where is the EBITDA?
Oct 24, 2023Clayton, Dubilier & Rice closed on its $7-billion purchase of the roll-up on Aug. 31 -- with no hint that its parting of the ways with legendary 60-year-old founder was in the offing.
Edelman Financial Engines new CEO will face challenges after AUM plummets $50 billion (since start of 2022) and DOL throws wrench in its business model, complicating efforts to convert robo-advised 401(k) assets to an 'Edelman' RIA
Jul 11, 2023CEO Jay Shah must chart a new course after the 2018 merger of the radio superstar RIA and the 401(k) robo-advisor fails to yield invisioned growth.
Joe Duran will co-develop Goldman Sachs unit aimed at outsourcing to non-Goldman RIAs after 'magic' never materialized for direct-to-consumer RIA
Feb 8, 2023The Newport Beach, Calif. RIA legend plans to shift from B2C to B2B to fix Goldman's disconnect with RIAs and play to the strengths for him and the bank
Elliot S. Weissbluth, Hightower Advisors mastermind, cashes out and vacates chairman role as Pershing's ex-CEO Lisa Dolly takes a board seat
Feb 19, 2021The Chicago rollup's founder got paid better by doing the second-stage exit and the new cast on the Board also includes Bob Oros ascending to chair and Darrell Horn of Green Square Wealth Management joining
Looking past Covid-19 pandemic, Louisiana RIA buys $1-million building after hitting $1 billion in AUM and hiring the town's mayor
Dec 17, 2020Summit Financial Wealth Advisors was sold to Focus Financial in 2014, growing its assets by $400 million since then but keeping staffing about the same
Marc Spilker adds Matt Brinker as chess piece -- and partner -- in what he calls a 'very selective' talent add to build platform-for-RIA platforms outside Wall Street
Jan 15, 2020Merchant Investment Management's executive chairman wants good people good at their job and Brinker likes having a breakaway Goldman partner rather than one captive to the Wall Street giant.
Goldman Sachs & Co. appoints Rachel Schnoll to yank off United Capital band-aid that Joe Duran didn't -- making FinLife work with non-UC applications
Nov 8, 2019The New York-based investment bank has the cash and people to do the combinations -- especially Goldman software -- that the roll-up's founder couldn't afford or didn't want to advantage
Goldman Sachs closes United Capital deal and Matt Brinker, Joe Duran's wingman, exits with social media swan song on same day
Jul 18, 2019The M&A chief's departure from the Newport Beach, Calif. roll-up may signal that its rolling-up days are over
John Bunch is out at Financial Engines Advisors after merger integration 80% complete; 'big reveal,' relaunch planned in coming months
Jul 11, 2019The No. 2 man at the $181-billion RIA built a uniform client experience, but now has a chance to be CEO of VC-backed firm based in his hometown
As Bob Oros-led HighTower reboots, it bags an ex-Goldman RIA, hires two, makes a CMO imminent, and clarifies mission
Mar 20, 2019The new CEO will need to somehow weave together the debris of the first roll-up run and the new one to the satisfaction of RIAs and the hundreds of people already inside the HighTower umbrella
HighTower gets a new CEO, to be revealed later, as Elliot Weissbluth moves upstairs
Sep 13, 2018Elliot Weissbluth's move upstairs ends an era, as Thomas H. Lee's reign begins in earnest, and Mark Cabezas comes in as M&A head.