Come Grow with Us

At CAPTRUST, you’ll be part of an elite nationwide group of advisors collaborating in a long-term, scalable growth model.

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What Are You Solving For?

We get it. This is a big decision, likely involving conversations with multiple buyers.

One piece of advice: Consider the business model that will work best for you and your clients. CAPTRUST provides a compelling alternative for independent RIAs considering a sale of their business.

Listen as CEO Fielding Miller discusses why advisors have chosen to join CAPTRUST.

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Hi there. Thank you for visiting our website. We’re glad that you’re exploring opportunities to parlay the business you’ve worked so hard to build into a future that’s even more successful. I can tell you that the people who have joined us over the years have gone through a very thorough process to make sure they found the right partner, and those same people are usually trying to solve for several things, probably just like you.

They’re trying to solve for succession; they’re trying to solve for growth. They’re trying to reduce the increasing complexity of running their business. In short, they want more margin in their lives, and so many of these same people that I’ve interacted with simply want to get back to why they got in the business in the first place: to advise clients. Keep in mind that every single firm or team that has joined us over the years has come to us from a position of strength.

They were not desperate to sell or looking to sunset in the near future. They all had very well-run businesses, exceptional employees, and very strong client followings. Of course, a successful partnership has to hit all the right notes. It must be a good move for your clients, it must be a good move for your colleagues, and it must have very attractive economics for your shareholders.

Our goal for this website is to provide you with some real insight into what it would be like to partner with CAPTRUST. Now my father often told me, “Never trust anyone that says trust me.” So don’t take my word for it. Take the word of the many partners we’ve added through transactions over the last several years.

Now keep in mind that each group talked to several different firms, and they finally landed on us, and I want you to hear directly from them: Why did they do that? Even better, I want you to hear from them how it has worked after the transaction because that’s what really matters.

We would love to have an initial conversation with you to see if we might be the partner that you can go the distance with. Thank you for taking a little time to hear from me. I do hope we get the chance to meet in person soon. Thank you.

Your Business’s Needs

What Would Working with CAPTRUST Look Like?

Many independent RIAs have joined CAPTRUST, tapping into our formula for sustainable growth that includes a collaborative culture, a proven and scalable business model, and a reinvestment strategy for long-term growth. We believe in accountability to one another and our clients, rather than to outside investors.

Below, advisors like you share how joining CAPTRUST resolved key issues RIAs face.

Growth

We felt like we were chasing a rainbow

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Mike Molewski: In my view, one of the biggest challenges in being an independent firm is what is your trajectory? We had grown from 30 million to 5 billion [dollars] over 15 years. We did that all organically. We never did any acquisitions. We kept hitting asset levels and plateaus. The first one was a hundred million [dollars], and [then] 200 million [dollars], and then a billion [dollars], [and] then 2 billion. Finally, we got to the point where we felt like we were kind of chasing the rainbow. We felt like the closer we got, the bigger we got, the further away our end goal was because we couldn’t get scale; we couldn’t achieve scale. We couldn’t do the things that we wanted to do. So what we saw was an opportunity to change that trajectory and really accelerate the pace of our growth with a lot of people helping in areas that we didn’t have help in before, such as performance reporting and filling our portfolios and doing all the things that need to be done in compliance. Those are the hard parts of the game that really . . . almost immediately, we felt relief there.

Succession

My commitment to my clients is stability

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Cathy Seeber: My commitment to my clients is to ensure stability, stability, and security. It’s a very personal, trusted relationship, and for someone to understand that they’ve entrusted that with you, they need to also feel a sense of security that that’s going to continue, no matter what. My client relationships span over 20 years now. They know that I’m not going to be around forever, so I needed to align myself with a company where I knew they would succeed and have a very elevated client experience. Regardless of when I end my career as a financial advisor, I am more than confident that CAPTRUST has the systems in place to ensure that their interests are always first.

Business Complexity

We are going to be better advisors to our clients

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Bill Paxton: In running our practice, each of us was wearing multiple hats. We were doing investment research, we were doing client relationship work, [and we were] dealing with compliance issues—you name it. The four partners . . . we were doing a lot of different things. And by being a part of CAPTRUST now, we’re able to really leverage the expertise and resources that it has in-house. That frees us up to spend more time with clients, in front of prospective clients, and it’s a good thing for our practice and for our employees because it means we can continue to grow.

Realizing Value

I’d rather own a little piece of a lot of other people than 100% of just me

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Mark Davis: It’s a gut check. I mean, this is not a ho-ho business decision. This was, if you’ve built your own practice as I had, and there’s lots of men and women out there watching this have done, that’s you. I mean, that’s your blood; that’s your sweat; that’s your tears; that’s your mortgage. My mortgage today is still higher than it would’ve been if I hadn’t started my own company 20 years ago. Right? So that’s me. I’m invested in that. And to find people you trust with that investment or to trade that investment for an investment in the bigger purpose of another company is a really hard thing to do, and it’s an important one to do wisely. And at the end of the day, what I came down with is I’d rather own a little piece of a lot of other people than 100 percent of just me, and that was the trade I made.

How Is CAPTRUST Different?

The CAPTRUST growth model is rooted in a centralized team of professionals providing a suite of services to financial advisors, who ‌operate their own teams for client services and business development. Each advisor has the discretion and flexibility to delegate non-client-facing activity to the home office to maximize their effectiveness. By joining CAPTRUST, you’re joining a team totally focused on achieving positive results for our clients.

Get a feel for our team culture and explore what CAPTRUST can offer you.

Experienced Buyer

We are very careful about only acquiring RIAs that are a strong cultural fit with our organization.

We recognize that clients are the first priority, and our dedicated integration team will ensure a smooth transition.

“OneUP” Culture

We operate under the concept of “One Unified Practice” and strive every day to enrich the lives of our clients, colleagues, and communities.

Our culture of employee ownership aligns us for shared success. OneUP is our commitment to one another to grow and lift others along the way.

Diversified Offering

We offer a broad range of services for individuals, retirement plan sponsors, and endowments and foundations.

Our institutional footprint provides a distinct advantage to advisors and their clients.

Depth of Resources

Every year, we reinvest half of our profits back into the business.

As our industry evolves and client needs change, we are able to stay at the forefront through our investments in technology solutions, service offerings, and best-in-class talent.

Joining CAPTRUST Is Better for

Your Clients
Your Employees
Your Shareholders
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Eric Bailey: Clients were a big part of our decision in joining CAPTRUST. They asked what it meant for us, and we could answer that it was a good decision for us as partners, and it’s a good decision for [clients] because the resources are going to expand and very little, if anything, would be taken away.

Steve Wilt: One of the great things about CAPTRUST is its ability to help us give better service to our clients and the participants, and that comes from the centralized service model. So for example, we have a research team of 60 people who are meeting with the fund managers on an annual basis, talking to them quarterly, [and] tracking those funds on a daily basis.

Eileen Shaer: For the advisors joining, they get the lift from the research team [and] from the operations team, and they’re able to offload a lot of support things so that they can bring something better to their clients and to their lives.

Pat Bills: We had a client just a couple of weeks ago say, “We enjoyed working with you at the old company, but we feel like we have so much more since you’ve made the transition to CAPTRUST.”

Mark Davis: The responsibility that that takes off of my shoulders and, candidly, the peace of mind when I look in the mirror and know my clients are being served the way I would expect them to be served, in an optimal way . . . the difference is huge.

John Curry: We have this rule called the no-golf-ball rule. No CAPTRUST person will accept anything of value from an industry service provider—nothing even so trivial as a logoed golf ball.

Chris Kulick: Come to find out, it’d been over 30 years since Fielding [Miller] had that vision to have complete objectivity on behalf of the clients.

Pat Bills: That is something that clients want to hear.

Mark Davis: We think we deliver a better, stronger, more solid product because we’re not selling somebody else’s advice. We’re selling our own, and it’s always our best thinking.

Cathy Seeber: The people around you and the culture of helping each other, you feel it, and that just kind of filters down to the client. The client realizes it too. I had a duty to my clients to put myself in a position where I could offer them the best of the best, and at CAPTRUST, I knew I had that.

Chris Kulick: For me, being an advisor is being in front of clients, and CAPTRUST allows me to do that with the full faith that the business is being run better than I could ever do it myself.

Bob Jones: Your clients are going to be happy. Your team is going to be happier, and you are going to be happiest. I think that that’s a great combination.

  • Access to institutional-quality research and resources
  • More time with their advisors who are able to delegate non-client tasks to corporate-provided investment research, planning, and client services
  • Access to a robust library of content and resources on markets, planning, lifestyle, and investment solutions
  • Peace of mind regarding advisor succession
  • Best-in-class client-facing technology
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Eric Bailey: We had a lot of discussions internally about how this transaction would impact our employees.

Mark Davis: You feel a great responsibility for the teammates—these folks who’ve supported you and helped you build your business. And what you may be thinking is, gee, if I go to CAPTRUST, I’m selling them out, or I’m leaving them behind. It’s exactly the opposite. You’re giving opportunity to your team.

Jennifer Doss: We’re a growth firm, and that means there’s always new positions being created, new departments, new ideas, and new services that we want to do, and somebody’s got to lead that, and somebody’s got to own that.

Bob Jones: On an eight-person team, we really had to have people doing what we wanted them to do. CAPTRUST allows them to prosper at the things they want to do.

Marcus Magyar: I was doing education, but I wanted to move more into a wealth advisory role. Now being at CAPTRUST, I have moved myself from being on the institutional team to a wealth advisor managing about $50 million in assets. At our prior firm, there was no way I would’ve been able to do that in such a short period of time.

Speaker 6: We have a phrase here: a slogan called “One Up, One Unified Practice.”

Rick Shoff: And what that really means is, how do we get better together?

Audrey Wheat: Everyone here at CAPTRUST wants to see you grow and succeed and be put to your highest and best use. The director that was my mentor for so long is now my manager, and I work with him on a day-to-day basis to make sure that we’re working on things that fulfill us and also help move the company forward.

Bonnie McCullou…: By combining with CAPTRUST, you are solving for your own succession, but not only for you personally—also for your employees. You are ensuring a pathway, a very bright pathway, for the future.

Rick Shoff: We’re an employee-owned company. Over two-thirds of our colleagues already have ownership.

Ellen Shaer: And everybody is eligible to be a shareholder, whether you are answering the phone at the front desk or on the operating committee. It’s something that is available to all CAPTRUST employees and is definitely unique in the industry.

Veronica Karas: Prior to the merger, I don’t think I would’ve ever considered to ask for shares of the company because we were so small. Now, under CAPTRUST, I have this opportunity to actually own shares of a company that I work for. Everyone in the firm is heading in the same direction.

Mark Davis: The opportunity those folks get as part of the CAPTRUST team is so much bigger than they would’ve been able to get at each of our individual advisory shops. It’s phenomenal.

Devyn Duex: CAPTRUST is the strongest REA in the business, and every time we bring somebody in, it just lifts us up even higher. If you come and be a part of CAPTRUST, I mean, you can accomplish whatever goal you have for yourself. The sky’s the limit, really.

  • Have more capacity to focus on their highest and best use, letting them do what they love and clients value
  • Become a part of one unified practice that allows for the sharing of success
  • Have a clear path to ownership that is awarded, not purchased
  • Access a larger peer group to foster new relationships share best practices
  • Leverage industry-leading technology
  • Unlock new career path opportunities within the firm
  • Participate in industry-leading benefits and compensation opportunities
  • Gain access to a proven lead generation platform
  • Cross sell additional services such as endowments, foundations, retirement plans, participant advice, and executive planning services
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Rush Benton: By being a part of CAPTRUST, you gain resources, expertise, and scale, which means you can drive much better outcomes for your clients, for your employees, and for you as a business owner.

Rick Shoff: You’re very entrepreneurial now, but imagine if you had that same entrepreneurial spirit, but you had a team of 500 people in every area from IT to research, to technology, to project management, to funding it. That’s the ultimate entrepreneurial environment.

Pat Bills: I would tell you that independence is one of our hallmarks.

Steve Wilt: We call it freedom in a framework, and what that means is that I run the Akron office, I have my own business plan, [and] I build my own team, but I do it within the framework of CAPTRUST, and they want to help you grow.

Frank Bub: Since day one, we’ve been bringing the institutional advisory business together with the individual wealth advisory business. Because it’s already here, and we’ve already done it, and it’s been successful, we can help you get up to speed that much faster.

Chris Kulick: Having over 150 advisors, collaborating, [and] sharing stories gives you an undeniable edge.

Speaker 7: Everyone is passionate, and we’re working towards the same goal.

Mark Davis: I get to bring in full-time analysts that are absolutely at the top of their game on the investment side. I get to bring in partners who can tell you the ins and outs of every record-keeping platform in America.

Bob Jones: Coming to a place like CAPTRUST allows you to offload the things in your daily life that you no longer want to do. That gives you more opportunities to do the things you want to do. And yet, the business, the thing you built, still grows and still prospers.

Rick Shoff: We invest half of our profits every year back into improving our client value proposition, and that amount that we invest is larger than 98 percent of our competitors’ total revenue.

Jon Meyer: Our ability to reinvest in our business has led us to develop custom solutions that are enhancing the value for our advisors, our colleagues, and our clients.

Bonnie: From the front desk to Fielding [Miller]’s office, all employees have the opportunity to be a shareholder at CAPTRUST, and from where we are today to that next 10-year goal, the value that is going to be created for every employee at this firm is significant.

Steve Wilt: You [have] really got to consider who you want your partners to be for the next 20 years.

Mark Davis: At the end of the day, being part of something bigger, being part of something stronger, where you don’t just own yourself, [but] you own each other . . . it’s much better diversification and much better strength in numbers. And I don’t care who you are. I don’t care how solid your individual business is. You cannot have the muscle, the depth of resources, and frankly, the strength of the integrity of another 520-some-odd employees to hold you up, to make you strong, [and] to make you better for your clients. You can’t do it.

  • Break through ceilings of complexity when your growth requires significant re-investment cycles without taking on 100 percent of the cost, work and risk associated with going it on your own
  • Have the scale needed to compete for the long-term
  • Experience “freedom within a framework” – build your own team and create your own business plan, but with the resources of CAPTRUST
  • Optimize the valuation, increase income, and create long-term wealth by being a CAPTRUST partner
  • Have greater confidence in the durability of the business and their practice–financially and operationally thanks to diversified revenue streams
  • Access a proven and experienced leadership team focused on highest and best use for all employees
  • Reap the benefits of the continuous improvement afforded by CAPTRUST’s reinvestment policy
  • Complete alignment across the entire firm with equity ownership and performance bonuses tied to revenue growth

Mission

Our mission is to enrich the lives of our clients, colleagues, and communities through sound financial advice, integrity, and a commitment to service beyond expectation.

$730+ Billion
Client assets under advisement
$160+ Billion
Client assets under management
Founded in 1997
Over 25 years of financial experience and expertise
Independent
Dedicated to providing objective fiduciary advice

An Experienced Buyer

Since 2006, we have successfully integrated independent RIAs.

2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2006

2006

  • Palmer & Cay*
    Atlanta, GA

*Lift-out Deal Structure

2007

2007

  • Atlantic Capital Management
    Raleigh, NC
  • Plan Advisory Services
    Philadelphia, PA
  • Wall Street Access*
    New York, NY

*Lift-out Deal Structure

2008

2008

  • Capital Strategies*
    Birmingham, AL

*Lift-out Deal Structure

2009

2009

  • Kravitz, Davis & Sansome*
    Los Angeles, CA
  • Star Group (Merrill Lynch)*
    Akron, OH
  • The Jones Blair Group (Wells Fargo)*
    Charlotte, NC

*Lift-out Deal Structure

2010

2010

  • Holmes Murphy & Associates*
    Des Moines, IA
  • Institutional Consulting Group (RBS)*
    Dallas, TX

*Lift-out Deal Structure

2011

2011

  • Cobb Retirement Solutions
    Houston, TX
2012

2012

  • Bay Colony Partners
    Boston, MA
  • Freedom One Financial Group
    Clarkston, MI
2013

2013

  • Cambridge Financial Services*
    Greenwich, CT
  • Clearbrook Investment Consulting*
    Stamford, CT

*Lift-out Deal Structure

2014

2014

  • Whitmore Retirement (401k Advisors, Inc.)*
    New York, NY
  • Valmonte Team (Beacon Pointe)*
    Riverside, CA
  • Defined Contribution Advisors
    Minneapolis, MN

*Lift-out Deal Structure

2015

2015

  • Pensionmark®
    Santa Barbara, CA
  • MFP Strategies
    Bethlehem, PA
  • Parker Carlson & Johnson
    Dayton, OH
2017

2017

  • HBK Wealth Management
    Cincinnati, OH
  • InTrust Fiduciary Group
    Austin, TX
  • The Johnston Group
    Philadelphia, PA
  • Windsor Financial Group
    Minneapolis, MN
  • CapTrust
    Tampa, FL
  • Davidson & Garrard
    Lynchburg, VA
  • Knox Capital
    Salt Lake City, UT
2018

2018

  • Catawba Capital Management
    Roanoke, VA
  • Morton Wealth Management
    Greensboro, NC
  • FCE Group
    Lake Success, NY
  • Watermark Asset Management
    San Ramon, CA
  • Rogers Financial
    Harrisonburg, VA
2019

2019

  • FiduciaryVest
    Atlanta, GA
  • McQueen Ball
    Bethlehem, PA
  • Cornerstone Capital Advisors
    Akron, OH
  • South Texas Money Management, Ltd.
    San Antonio, TX
  • Boston Advisors*
    Boston, MA

*Lift-out Deal Structure

2020

2020

  • Fountain Financial Associates
    Wilmington, NC
  • Welch Hornsby Investment Advisors
    Birmingham, AL
  • Lakeside Wealth Management
    Chesterton, IN
  • Plante Moran Retirement Plan Advisory Practice*
    Southfield, MI
  • Shine Wealth Partners
    Lone Tree, CO
  • MRA Associates
    Phoenix, AZ
  • PWA Wealth Management
    Pittsburgh, PA

*Lift-out Deal Structure

2021

2021

  • GBB Wealth
    Sacramento, CA
  • Cammack Retirement Group
    New York, NY
  • Pacific Investment Consultants
    Sacramento, CA
  • Stewardship Financial Advisors
    Atlanta, GA
  • Nachman Norwood & Partout Wealth Management
    Greenville, SC
  • Covenant
    San Antonio, TX
  • RINET Company
    Boston, MA
  • New Market Wealth Management
    Nashville, TN
  • Crescent Capital Consulting
    New Orleans, LA
  • Portfolio Evaluations, Inc.
    Warren, NJ
2022

2022

  • Frontier Wealth Management
    Kansas City, MO
  • Reynolds Investment Management
    Greenville, SC
  • Patriot Pension Advisors
    Foxborough, MA
  • Kairos Private Wealth
    Lake Mary, FL
  • Generations Wealth Management
    Des Moines, IA
  • Danda Trouvé Investment Management
    Kansas City, MO
  • TrustCore Financial Services
    Nashville, TN
2023

2023

  • Monroe Vos Consulting
    Houston, TX
  • QA Wealth Management
    Minnetonka, MN
  • Aevitas Wealth Management
    Wellesley Hills, MA
  • Omega Wealth Partners
    Fort Worth, TX
  • Southern Wealth Management
    San Antonio, TX
  • Column Capital Advisors
    Indianapolis, IN
  • Normann Financial Group
    Sanford, NC
  • Trutina Financial
    Bellevue, WA
  • Engrave Wealth Partners
    Woodlands, TX

Testimonial

“The best advice I can give to somebody considering a move like this is…”

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Eric Bailey: The best advice I can give to somebody considering a move like this is what’s going to be the impact for [your] clients? What resources are necessary for your clients, and where is going to be the right place to get those? What things are on the horizon that are going to require you to invest more in your business? Discretionary investment management versus investment consulting is an example. Secondly, what’s the growth opportunity for you as a business owner where you are now, and what’s that growth and shareholder opportunity for your employees, for their future, over the next 10 to 20 years? The third one is much more personal, and it really gets into what do you enjoy doing on a daily basis? Maybe you enjoy compliance, running a business, and operations, but maybe you enjoy seeing clients and adding value to the investment process. And if that decision becomes quality of life and spending more time with clients, which is why we’re all in this business, that’s an individual decision and one that you have to make.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are your acquisition deals structured?

We will acquire 100% of your business in a transaction structured as an asset purchase. Consideration will be cash and CAPTRUST shares.

Will I have to re-brand/change the name of my business?

Yes. CAPTRUST is one entity. Acquired firms will be rebranded to CAPTRUST and be placed on a single ADV.

How will our name change be communicated to our clients?

Our dedicated marketing team will assist you in customizing a message that reinforces the continuation of the excellent service your clients are accustomed to.

Will I have to modify my clients’ portfolios?

No. We have an open architecture which gives advisors the flexibility to tailor the most appropriate solutions and strategies for each client.

Will I need to change custodians?

No. Currently, CAPTRUST has custodial relationships with Schwab, Pershing, Fidelity, and TD Ameritrade.

Rush Benton

Rush Benton

Managing Director, Strategic Growth

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Rick Shoff Headshot

Rick Shoff

Managing Director, Advisor Group

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David Wahlen

David Wahlen

Senior Manager, Strategic Growth

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Contact Us

Have questions about moving forward? We’re more than happy to answer them. Get in touch to see how joining CAPTRUST can benefit you and your clients.

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