RIA Roundup: New Sell-Side Advisory Firm Launches

Emily Blue and Ryan Halls have jumped to the other side of the negotiation table with their new sell-side M&A advisory firm, Hue Partners, while Focus Financial facilitated an acquisition for Bordeaux Wealth Advisors and F.L.Putnam brought in a new head of talent.  

In earlier news, Blue’s former employer Caprock scooped a $2.2 billion Chicago-based firm in its first acquisition ever; Journey Strategic Wealth scored a team from Carson Group, Advisor Growth Strategies declared that there’s a new middle market in RIA M&A, and a $2 billion multifamily office created by Bruce K. Lee teamed up with a new fintech AI called Qdeck. 

New Sell-Side Advisory Firm Launches

Related: RIA Roundup: After Hitting $17B in ‘23, Concurrent Scores Advisors from Wells Fargo, Raymond James

There’s a new sell-side M&A advisory firm on the RIA block. Created by Emily Blue and Ryan Halls, Hue Partners has already gained a handful of clients—including at least one buyer—since officially launching late last week.  

“I don’t think you would see the level of engagements that we already have in place and the traction we’ve gotten this early if there wasn’t a major need,” Blue told WealthManagement.com. 

Related: RIA Roundup: A Dozen Deals Bring Waverly to More Than $10B

Without naming names, the former head of corporate development for Caprock and director of M&A for Mariner said she feels many industry-focused transaction advisors have “totally lost sight of the business.” 

“There are processes happening on the sell-side where the selling firm doesn’t even meet the buyers until they’ve submitted an offer,” she explained. “It’s just so silly to me because what drives value is that advisor and the firm’s story; how they care about the clients, and what that service looks like. When they’re able to share that story, it makes the whole process of integration better but also dramatically improves financial outcomes.” 

With that in mind, Hue Partners is offering sell-side advisory services, along with transition support for breakaways and M&A consulting, with a focus on the human element (the inspiration for the name) and relationship building. Blue will source deals and help clients to navigate the increasingly complicated landscape through the transaction process and beyond, while Halls—most recently a principal leading M&A and relationship management for Focus Financial—said his goal is to bring the same level of professionalism that exists on the buy-side to the seller side of the table.  

“If you look across the whole industry and space, Ryan has been the only person that has sat in the sell-side advisor role and also been an advisor,” noted Blue. “I’m the only one that has actually integrated acquisitions and helped firms work to achieve that ROI on the firms in which they’ve acquired. 

“I have a big dream for Ryan and I to be the number one sell-side advisor in the country, and I don’t think that’s a stretch,” she said. “And I think just doing business the right way with the right people to get the best outcome is the key to success.” 

“No matter what goal we set, I think we’ll exceed it,” said Halls, pointing out that the entrepreneurial aspect of the venture has attracted the attention of similarly minded advisory firms. “We’ve been so fortunate so far, and I think that’s come from trying to do things the right way from the beginning.” 

Executive Wealth Group to Join Focus Partner Bordeaux Wealth Advisors 

Executive Wealth Group, a Seattle RIA managing close to $395 million for 76 clients, will join Focus partner firm Bordeaux Wealth Advisors in a deal expected to close in the second quarter of the year 

Advisor Sam Maxwell, along with one support staff, provides financial planning and investment management services to senior corporate executives and their families. With a focus on serving executives in the aerospace industry, an area also served by Bordeaux, he expects to benefit from expanded investment, tax and planning resources, as well as access to an experienced team and “robust operational infrastructure,” according to an announcement.  

“The addition of the Executive Wealth Group team will build upon Bordeaux’s significant Seattle presence and enable them to serve more corporate executives in the Seattle area,” said Pradeep Jayaraman, managing director and co-head of partnerships and business development for Focus. 

Bordeaux, headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif, and managing more than $4.4 billion for 244 ultra-wealthy clients and three charities, has appeared on WealthManagement.com’s RIA 100 list for two years in a row for proactive staffing during a period of rapid growth.  

Currently, Focus, under new leadership after being bought out by private equity last year, is rolling up its stable of around 90 partner firms into a handful of the largest.  

Molly O’Connor Becomes Chief People Officer at F.L.Putnam 

F.L.Putnam Investment Management Co. has tapped Molly O’Connor to step into the newly created role of chief people officer. 

Global head of wealth management talent acquisition for BNY Mellon | Pershing from 2006 to 2011, O’Connor has more recently held executive positions for talent firm M2 Partners and her own executive search company. In her new role, she will report directly to CEO Tom Manning and oversee the development and management of talent processes and programs, including acquisition and development, compensation and diversity initiatives.  

“Molly is highly regarded in wealth management and across the broader financial services community,” Manning said in a statement. “Acquiring premier talent has been a core part of our growth strategy over the past few years, and we are confident that with Molly in place, we will continue to identify some of the brightest minds in wealth management.” 

F.L.Putnam was also named to the RIA 100 list, for the second time, in 2024. The firm offers a menu of investment, financial planning, and family office solutions for individuals, single and multi-family offices, endowments, foundations, and other RIAs. 

Headquartered in the greater Boston area, F.L.Putnam manages more than $4.3 billion for around 1,500 individual and 170 institutional investors.  

“This is an exciting time to join F.L.Putnam, as the firm has been in a period of exponential growth,” said O’Conner. “I look forward to building on the strong foundation that Tom and his team have created over the past eight years and continuing to attract and retain driven, intelligent, wealth management talent with a client-first mindset.”