Office address: 305 Madison Ave., Morristown, NJ 07960
Website: privateadvisorgroup.com
Year established: 1997
Company type: financial services
Employees: 50+
Expertise: wealth management, investment advisory, investment management, financial planning, compliance and supervision, practice management, succession planning, insurance consulting, advisor transitions, multi-custodial solutions
Parent company: PAG Holdings, LLC
Key people: Frank Smith (CEO), Patrick Sullivan and John Hyland (co-founders), Jim Perhacs (COO), Adam Schorr (CFO), Jim Hooks (chief compliance officer), Jamie Kulik (CoS)
Financing status: private equity-backed
Private Advisor Group (PAG) is a Morristown-based RIA that partners with independent financial advisors nationwide. The firm provides compliance, technology, and custodial support so advisors can focus on serving clients. It reported more than $40 billion in advisory assets across more than 775 advisors as of 2025.
Private Advisor Group started in 1997 as Morristown Financial Group, a local advisory practice in New Jersey. The firm was co-founded by John Hyland and Pat Sullivan, two active financial advisors who built their own compliance management system.
That tool caught the attention of other advisors because they faced the same regulatory burdens. The demand pushed Hyland and Sullivan to pivot from advising clients to building a support platform for independent advisors.
PAG held its first annual advisor conference at the Madison Hotel in Morristown in 2010. That gathering became a yearly tradition that the company calls "Wings N' Things."
Private Advisor Group adopted its current name a year later and registered as an independent RIA with a national growth plan. The firm later introduced its FastTrack system to speed up advisor transitions and compliance processes.
PAG crossed $30 billion in AUM by 2021. That milestone came alongside a minority investment from private equity firm Merchant Investment Management.
The company then acquired New Jersey-based advisory group Investors Financial Group in 2022. It moved to a new headquarters in Morristown in 2024, and broker-dealer LPL Financial took a minority stake in November 2025.
Private Advisor Group teamed up with fintech platform Succession Link in 2024 to address succession and continuity planning for its advisors. The deal gave professionals a digital marketplace to buy, sell, or find continuity partners as more industry veterans near retirement.
The firm then won the Most Innovative Use of WealthTech award at the 2025 InvestmentNews Awards for its Greenhouse platform. Greenhouse is the company's all-in-one digital hub for advisors, with over 1,200 active users and 100,000 page views at the time of the award.
PAG supports independent advisors through a multi-custodian model and proprietary tech tools:
The firm clears its securities through broker-dealer LPL Financial. Private Advisor Group also holds annual conferences and runs a peer network to keep advisors connected across the country.
Private Advisor Group describes its culture as one centered on connection and impact. The firm highlights these themes:
Private Advisor Group lists the following benefits for its employees:
PAG says it offers "time, talent, and resources" to local projects and global causes. The firm also hosts advisor events like the Annual Conference, Wings N' Things, and Elite Retreat.
Frank Smith leads Private Advisor Group as CEO and president. Smith held prior roles at CUNA Mutual Group and LPL Financial during a two-decade financial services career. He completed a BS in marketing at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Private Advisor Group's leadership team also includes:
The leadership group operates from the firm's Morristown headquarters and its Rock Hill office. The team manages a corporate staff of around 50 that supports independent advisors nationwide.
Private Advisor Group brought on its broker-dealer, LPL Financial, as a minority investor in November 2025. The firm's legacy owners, including co-founders Hyland and Sullivan, still hold majority control of the business.
About 90 percent of the company's advisor assets already sit on LPL's custodial platform. CEO Smith said the deal will help Private Advisor Group step up M&A for practices that need succession relief.
Since then, PAG added Memphis-based advisor Robert Woodend from Ameriprise in early 2026. It gained roughly $150 million in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets from the move.
Woodend said he chose the firm for its mix of independence and back-office support. Smith added that it plans to keep growing its advisor network through recruitment and acquisitions.
The latest team to join Cetera, led by a 29-year veteran professional, arrives with roughly $380 million in AUA from OSJ Private Advisor Group.
Bringing experience from Integrated Partners, LPL, and Edelman Financial Engines, the mega-RIA's newest leaders are set to build on the growth story playing out in its 1099 channel.
On your mark. Get set. Go! Private Advisor Group's Frank Smith sprints into a new year.
The $31.5B RIA and New Jersey-based branch office is helping its advisor community navigate the journey of continuity and succession planning.
The practice works with investors at some big-name organizations.
The independent RIA bolsters its community in the East Coast as it welcomes former Edward Jones advisor.
Bruce and Jeff are joined by Abby Salameh, chief marketing officer and managing director of CAIS IQ, to talk about the appetite for and access to alternative investments.
Andrew Komarow was featured in InvestmentNews in May 2021 for his focus on understanding special-needs financial planning.
Kalbaugh will work with the fast-growing wealth management firm's executive leadership on strategic planning.
