Verdence plans CTO rent, nationwide push after largest acquisition
Maryland RIA reaches $5B by including $564M Harvest Investment Consultants, with CEO Leo Kelly aiming to grow to be a “nationwide model in 5 years.”
Maryland-based RIA Verdence Capital Advisors has accomplished its largest-ever acquisition in a transfer for fellow Maryland-based agency Harvest Investment Consultants, pushing Verdence to $5 billion in property underneath administration because it plots nationwide growth.
Harvest manages $564 million for shoppers as its 10-person crew led by Michael Meily joins Verdence, which was based in 2017 by Leo Kelly after he left his position as managing director at Hightower. Harvest marks the second acquisition for Verdence because it sold majority ownership in April to Wealth Partners Capital Group and HGGC’s Aspire Holdings.
“The technique is to proceed to construct by way of the East Coast after which push west,” mentioned Kelly. “If we discover an excellent individual on the West Coast and it matches, we’ll go there as a result of individuals trump location each time. Our plan is to create a major East Coast presence and proceed to push out west and be a nationwide model in 5 years.”
Kelly stays CEO of Verdence, which presents multi-family workplace companies and plans to quickly rent its first chief know-how officer. The agency is headquartered in Hunt Valley, Md., with further places in Alexandria, Va., Boston, Naples, Fla., and New York City.
“We are presently available in the market to rent a brand new CTO. That individual’s going to come back in, and construct out our AI overlay,” mentioned Kelly. “We’re utilizing AI in our asset placement crew [and] in our advertising crew. Our advisors, our associates are utilizing Claude to develop processes to make their lives extra environment friendly.”
Wealth administration knowledge platform Milemarker is working with Verdence as a part of its AI implementations, mentioned Kelly. Verdence’s earlier private equity backer, Emigrant Partners, held a minority stake since 2021 earlier than exiting earlier this 12 months as WPCG and Aspire Holdings invested within the RIA.
Kelly mentioned he anticipates Verdence will make “a number of” extra acquisitions earlier than the 12 months is over, prioritizing targets primarily based on their client-first tradition with RIAs between $500 million to $1 billion AUM as its candy spot. In addition to a CTO, Verdence plans to rent a brand new head of household workplace and a head of estate planning for its household workplace unit.
“This is somebody who can architect our AI transport systems. Whether [we] construct it ourselves or associate with somebody,” Kelly mentioned of the brand new CTO position. “Talent is vital in these acquisitions. So a few of these hires will come by way of acquisition.”
Kelly describes Wealth Partners Capital Group (WPCG) as a “development accelerator” and HGGC’s Aspire Holdings because the capital useful resource supplier to WPCG. The two companies have actively invested collectively within the RIA house, together with previous or present stakes in Waverly Advisors, True North Advisors, The Wealth Alliance, MCF Advisors, Merit Financial Advisors, and this 12 months’s new minority investment in Crewe Advisors.
“As we get greater and we go into [2027], we’ll be trying to make bigger and bigger acquisitions,” mentioned Kelly. “What we aren’t is only a rollup. We are usually not an acquirer. We’re an integrator, and so we’re not on the market shopping for EBITDA,” he added. “We need of us that match our tradition.”
