Office address: 811 Louisiana Street, Suite 2420, Houston, TX 77002
Website: americanapartners.com
Year established: 2019
Company type: financial services
Employees: 70+
Expertise: wealth advisory, investment management, financial planning, alternative investments, retirement plan consulting, estate and trust planning, tax planning, insurance planning, charitable giving, cash flow forecasting, risk management, sports and entertainment wealth management
Parent company: N/A
Key people: Jason Fertitta (CEO), Ronald Thacker (president), David Darst (chief investment officer), Mike Mitchell (CFO), Robert Wellington (COO), Melissa Giles (chief platform officer), Alex Zengo (chief compliance officer)
Financing status: private equity-backed
Americana Partners is a Houston-based wealth advisory firm that works with families, institutions, and entrepreneurs. The firm connects clients through co-investment deals and private placements across its professional network. It has six offices across three states and manages over $12 billion in assets as of March 2026.
Americana Partners formed in 2019 after a team of Morgan Stanley private wealth advisors left the wirehouse. The group, led by CEO Jason Fertitta, wanted to offer fee-based advice free from large-firm restrictions.
Fertitta had spent about a decade at Morgan Stanley before partnering with platform provider Dynasty Financial Partners. The firm launched with roughly $2.6 billion in AUM as the largest team to join Dynasty's network.
Americana Partners turned to its Morgan Stanley roots for senior talent as it built out its leadership team. It brought on Ronald Thacker as president in 2021 after he ran Morgan Stanley's central region across 13 states.
It also named David Darst, Morgan Stanley's chief investment strategist for 17 years, as CIO. The firm then added a $700 million Permian Basin team in 2023 and opened a Latin American division in 2024.
Americana gained its first outside institutional investor in October 2024 through private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners. It had about $8.5 billion in AUM at the time and shifted to a fee-only RIA model that year.
The firm then acquired Beverly Hills-based Boulevard Family Wealth in March 2025. The deal pushed total platform assets past $12 billion and marked its first expansion outside Texas.
The company added a $1.5 billion Morgan Stanley team to its Houston office in May 2025. The four advisors, formerly known as The AHM Group, had worked with family offices and endowments.
Americana Partners also hired Franklin Ruben, a 40-year veteran in municipal bonds, later that year. The firm continues to add talent and close deals across six US offices.
The firm operates on a fee-only RIA model and connects clients to investment opportunities through its professional network:
Americana Partners uses Schwab, Fidelity, and Pershing as custodians. Dynasty Financial Partners, Americana's platform partner and minority investor, provides back-office technology and platform services.
Americana Partners lists five stated values that shape how it works with clients and runs its business:
Advisors join the firm as W-2 employees rather than independent contractors. Most have the chance to earn equity ownership as part of their move to the company:
Americana Partners also says it supports local communities through volunteerism and financial contributions. The firm names Ken's Krew and The Houston Museum of Natural Science among the organizations its team works with.
Jason Fertitta is CEO and founding partner of Americana Partners. Fertitta was a managing director at Morgan Stanley after working at Lehman Brothers. He started his career at Texas Direct and studied at St. Edward's University in Austin.
Other senior leaders at Americana Partners include:
The team manages operations across multiple offices with back-office support from Dynasty Financial Partners.
In 2025, Americana Partners hired former Morgan Stanley director Mark Monroe with over $1 billion in client assets. Monroe spent 15 years advising UHNW families and adds alternative investment expertise to the firm's Houston office. The move was Americana's second Morgan Stanley hire that year and signals continued growth through wirehouse recruiting.
Americana also turned to acquisitions that year and bought Nashville-based RIA Goodpasture Gray that October. The deal added over $300 million in client assets with a focus on sports and entertainment clients. It was the firm's second out-of-state deal of 2025 and points to more geographic growth ahead.
CV Advisors taps a fintech veteran to drive AI strategy as Americana Partners brings in a deal-tested finance chief to guide expansion.
The firm is also looking to grow offshore services in key hubs including California and Houston over the next 12 to 18 months.
Meanwhile, Americana Partners has expanded its own footprint in Nashville, while BIP boosts its presence in Atlanta.
Raymond James also kept its Commonwealth recruitment streak going, while Americana Partners and Pallas Capital Advisors each hired a veteran specialist advisor to boost their offerings.
Meanwhile in Chicago, the wirehouse also lost another $454 million team as a group of defectors moved to Wells Fargo.
Wall Street breakaways bolster Americana's reach in Houston as a 10-advisor ensemble in New Jersey make their move to LPL.
Americana is making its first foray outside the Lone Star State, while Apella welcomes another partner in New England.
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The $8.5B AUM ultra-high-net-worth firm is looking to its next phase of growth fueled by a strategic private equity investment.
The Dynasty Financial partner firm is looking to become a destination of choice for elite financial advisors in the international UHNW space.
The $7B RIA has launched a dedicated wealth unit, led by a respected authority and backed by family offices in a key market.
