Fidelity’s outgoing RIA boss, David Canter, joining Bluespring Wealth as president

After a decade at Fidelity, Canter will take over leadership of Bluespring, the RIA roll-up subsidiary of Kestra Holdings, with a focus on M&A, firm strategy and organic growth.

Two days after an internal email at Fidelity Investments revealed the departure of the firm’s RIA custody leader, David Canter, Bluespring Wealth Partners announced Canter will be joining the advisory firm as its new president.

Canter, who’s expected to stay at Fidelity through the end of July, will take over the president’s role from Stuart Silverman, who will transition to the newly created position of chairman of Bluespring, the RIA roll-up subsidiary of Kestra Holdings.

“I am excited to join Bluespring and build on the success of Stuart and the entire team,” Canter said in a prepared statement.

“Working in an entrepreneurial environment that prizes the individuality and independence of RIAs and wealth management firms in a supportive environment is energizing,” he added. “I look forward to collaborating with our partner firms, the team, and Stuart as we continue to expand the Bluespring footprint.”

Canter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kestra, which has private equity backing from Warburg Pincus, acquired Silverman’s Fusion Advisor Network 10 years ago when he moved into a chairman emeritus role.

Bluespring was created three years ago as a RIA consolidator. Since then, the RIA has made 19 acquisitions, including six this year, Silverman said.

According to its most recent public filings, Kestra has approximately $45 billion worth of advisory assets.

“It’s been a pleasure leading and growing this team over the last four years,” said Silverman. “We have created remarkable growth, and David will supercharge our position as a top acquirer. His experience should be a tremendous resource for our partner firms.”

Doug Fritz, co-founder and chief executive of F2 Strategy, called the hiring of Canter “a coup for Kestra.”

““It puts Kestra on the map for a lot of advisers,” Fritz added. “I think the main point is that there will be a lot of RIAs casting their eyes to Kestra and we hope they’re providing David with the bandwidth and resources to bring something really compelling to the market for advisers.”

Tim Welsh, president of Nexus Strategy, described Bluespring as a “fantastic landing spot for David, as his experience working with the industry’s largest RIAs will pay multiple dividends in leading Bluespring.”

“You could even say that firms like Bluespring came about because of Canter’s ideas and vision for how the industry will evolve,” he added. “Combined with his personal brand and notoriety, Canter will have RIAs looking for a forever home headed his way in droves.”