Former head of BlackRock's $1T US wealth management business joins specialized firm

A former head of BlackRock’s US wealth management business is joining a growing investment firm focused on the lower middle-market.

During his 14-year tenure, Frank Porcelli led the unit’s growth from $250 billion to $1 trillion AUM and was a member of the firm’s operating committee. Now his vast experience built up during a 30-year career in asset and wealth management at firms including Putnam Investments and Goldman Sachs will be put to good use at Star Mountain Capital.

The specialized private credit and secondaries investment firm, headquartered in New York, is a $4 billion AUM firm targeting systematic alpha and low-market-correlated returns for its global institutional and high-net-worth investors.

Porcelli joins as a senior advisor, having first tasted the product for himself.

“Having experienced the results for my own portfolio as an investor with Star Mountain, I am thrilled to be joining as a senior advisor,” he said.  “I believe many institutional and high-net-worth investors can benefit from the higher returns and low market correlation that Star Mountain targets through its distinctive platform in this large and inefficient U.S. lower middle-market.”

Porcelli is currently managing partner at Convergency Partners, an advisory and consulting business which helps asset management, wealth management, and Fintech firms formulate and execute growth strategies.

“We are honored to have Frank join Star Mountain as an aligned senior advisor bringing extensive strategic leadership, business management and client service experience,” said Brett Hickey, Star Mountain Capital founder and CEO. “His experience with helping build a strong client service organization at BlackRock will help us continue to provide our investors with the best service possible in accessing the benefits of the less efficient and large U.S. lower middle-market.”