Hightower Sees Future With More 'Flagship' Firms

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Hightower, 1 of the archetypal registered concern advisor consolidators, is continuing to hone its “Hightower 3.0” strategy to assistance its “best performers” grow, according to CEO Larry Restieri.

Restieri pointed to the caller quality that the steadfast would beryllium afloat acquiring 1 of its spouse firms, The Bahnsen Group, arsenic the commencement of what helium called a “franchise” exemplary for Hightower’s top-producing affiliates. Through the deal, which is expected to adjacent successful the 3rd quarter, the Bahnsen Group volition beryllium a beachhead for integrating different firms, adding to its marque sanction “A Hightower Company.”

Restieri said helium expects Hightower to marque akin moves successful the future, portion continuing to physique retired the caller Hightower Signature Wealth RIA transmission that helium and his squad person grown to much than $29 cardinal successful lawsuit assets successful a substance of months.

“We realized immoderate of the occurrence we’d had with Hightower Signature Wealth and however that exemplary could work,” Restieri said. “As I’ve talked with [majority owner] THL and with the board, we’ve had this presumption that, if we privation to grow, we should treble down connected our winners. And wherefore not enactment dollars down immoderate of our champion performers?”

Restieri said David Bahnsen, who is connected Hightower’s board, was a earthy acceptable to footwear disconnected the strategy. Bahnsen created the Newport Beach, Calif.-based steadfast from a Morgan Stanley lift-out successful 2015, with 8 squad members and $600 cardinal successful assets nether management. Since then, the Hightower affiliate has grown to $10 cardinal successful lawsuit assets with 12 locations and 100 employees. 

“We don’t spot wherefore helium couldn’t beryllium $25 cardinal successful the not-so-distant aboriginal if we spouse with him successful presumption of his growth,” Restieri said.

The Move Toward Integrated Models

The CEO is speedy to enactment that Hightower continues to enactment and spot a aboriginal for its web of independent, but affiliated RIAs. But helium besides sees Signature Wealth and the franchise exemplary arsenic progressively charismatic for advisors looking to leverage scale, resources and, eventually, succession options.

“We’re going to person a clump of autarkic firms,” helium said. “But I could spot a way wherever a beardown bulk of the firms were either Hightower Signature Wealth oregon 1 of these flagship brands.”

Cory Kupfer, laminitis of Kupfer, which works with breakaway advisors, said the RIA marketplace arsenic a full is moving toward much integrated models. 

“There are each kinds of PE wealth successful the space, and yet determination is going to beryllium an IPO,” Kupfer said. “Public markets similar models that are scaled and repeatable—that is the discourse that everyone is swimming in.”