Office address: 56 Jefferson Ave., Westwood, NJ 07675
Website: moderawealth.com
Year established: 1983
Company type: financial services
Employees: 200+
Expertise: wealth management, financial planning, investment management, tax planning and compliance, retirement planning, estate planning, trust services, business retirement services, portfolio management, nonprofit and foundation advisory services
Parent company: Modera Capital, Inc. (principal owner)
Key people: Tom Orecchio (CEO), Adam Leone (chief wealth officer), George Padula (CIO), Harli Palme (COO), Jim Kipp (CFO), Theresa Apruzzese Days (CCO), Laurie Vitali (chief people officer)
Financing status: majority employee-owned
Modera Wealth Management is a Westwood-based fee-only fiduciary serving individuals, families, and businesses. Its services span wealth management, investment management, financial planning, tax, and estate planning through 19 East Coast offices. The majority employee-owned firm had $15 billion in AUM for 6,000+ clients as of December 31, 2024.
Modera's story starts in 1983, when Gary Greenbaum, an early fee-only advisor, launched the predecessor firm in Westwood. The idea was simple: clients pay for advice, not commissions.
Tom Orecchio joined as a partner in 1995 and helped shape what the company would grow into. In 2011, a merger with Back Bay Financial Group brought two offices together with $964 million AUM.
By 2013, Modera Wealth Management had crossed $1 billion AUM and counted 17 CFP certificants. Between 2014 and 2017, several organizations joined the platform:
The additions through 2020 brought combined AUM to $2.7 billion with 35 CFP certificants.
Between 2018 and 2022, more companies came aboard:
In 2023 and 2024, Modera Wealth Management kept growing through these additions:
That track record earned outside recognition: InvestmentNews ranked the company 14th in the $1 billion-plus AUM category on its 2024 Fastest-Growing Fee-Only RIAs list. The list covered 74 commission-free firms with $212 billion in AUM based on three-year growth to July 2024.
For Modera Wealth Management, the placement strengthens its case as a credible fee-only option at a time when independent advisory firms face growing pressure from larger consolidators.
Modera offers fee-only, fiduciary wealth management across several service areas, each built around the client's full financial picture:
Clients receive ongoing thought leadership from Modera Wealth Management through newsletters, webinars, and firm-hosted events as part of the advisory relationship.
Modera states its culture as ego-free, team-oriented, and collaborative. One-third of staff are firm shareholders, as stated in its March 2025 Form ADV filing. The company builds its workplace around three stated core values:
To uphold this culture, Modera Wealth Management supports its employees with these benefits:
Beyond its internal culture, Modera Wealth Management states that it is also an equal opportunity employer. It covers various categories such as race, age, disability, genetics, and gender identity.
Tom Orecchio is CEO, principal, and wealth manager at Modera Wealth Management. He holds CFA, CFP, ChFC, and AIF designations. Orecchio started at Heritage Financial as a planner, then joined Greenbaum & Associates in 1995 and became a partner. He holds a BA in government and law from Lafayette College.
Orecchio leads alongside a team of principals who cover Modera Wealth Management's core functions:
Several members of the leadership team also serve as wealth managers, working directly with clients alongside their executive duties. As principals and shareholders, they hold both operational and ownership stakes in the firm.
Modera Wealth Management received an excellence award for Employer of Choice at InvestmentNews' 2025 Women to Watch Awards. The annual event honors firms and individuals who have driven meaningful change for women in the wealth management field. The recognition raises Modera's profile as a workplace for female advisors and professionals in a competitive talent market:
Hover or tap to flipModera Wealth Management also brought on Vince Curtin, an investment banking veteran, as its M&A head in August 2025. Curtin focuses on fiduciary-aligned deals to add to the 20 partner firms that have joined since 2011. The company is also eyeing the Midwest and West Coast and is open to succession deals for transitioning advisors.
The fee-only integrator is adding $311.6 million in assets and specialized planning expertise to its presence in the Sunshine State.
MOEs can turn into a "very morbid discussion for a leadership team," says Merit's M&A executive David Wahlen, highlighting the tough choices RIAs face as they chase the scale of mega-firms.
Vince Curtin lifts the lid on the East Coast RIA's fiduciary focus, its employee ownership structure, and how it seeks opportunities "even in a very crowded marketplace.”
Five new RIAs are joining the industry coalition promoting firm-level impact across workforce, client, community and environmental goals.
Recognizing the fee-only RIAs that have seen a speedy rise in AUM and clients due to forward-thinking strategies and trusted advice
The Fastest-Growing Fee-Only RIAs of 2023 are celebrated for attracting new assets since July 2020. While all 75 winners are trusted and reliable partners for their clients, each firm has its own unique strategy and operating methods.
InvestmentNews celebrates the best fee-only RIAs from the four regions across the US. The 100 winners are thriving in their respective areas by ensuring their clients experience exemplary service. Through a combination of expertise, personalized attention, and a client-first mentality, they have established themselves as trusted partners in guiding individuals and families toward financial success.
