HB Wealth has stood up a standalone institutional advisory and outsourced chief investment officer practice, pulling together work the Atlanta-based RIA has long done for nonprofits, foundations, endowments and corporate clients into a formal business line.
Two senior hires join the firm to run it. Mike Hill and Armond Reese, both bringing more than 25 years apiece in institutional investing, take on the newly created roles of Senior Institutional Advisors and Shareholders. Hill is based in Nashville and Reese in Atlanta, and both will answer to chief investment officer Joel Houck.
The move comes as more independent RIAs push into institutional territory, betting that appetite for outsourced investment oversight keeps climbing. Industry researcher Cerulli Associates has tracked the OCIO market tripling over the last ten years to more than $3.3 trillion in assets, with growth expected to push that figure to $5.6 trillion by 2029. Nonprofits and foundations in particular have been leaning harder on fiduciary advisors for governance, manager vetting and portfolio design.
For HB Wealth, the new unit builds on ties it already had. Many of the endowments, foundations and nonprofits now folded into the institutional practice came through relationships with the firm's private wealth clients, meaning the launch is less about breaking into new territory and more about resourcing what was already there.
"We've served institutional clients for years alongside the families and individuals who lead them," said Carroll, HB Wealth's chief executive. "What's changing is the level of commitment. This is about building a dedicated infrastructure, people, process, and capability so we can expand our reach and deepen our impact across the institutions we serve."
Established in 1989, HB Wealth operates as a fee-only fiduciary wealth manager offering investment management and family office services alongside broader advisory work. The firm counts itself among the largest fee-only RIAs in the country, running 12 offices across six states from its Atlanta headquarters, with a staff of more than 340 overseeing upward of $32 billion for individual, family and institutional clients.
Hill spent more than 25 of his 30-plus years in institutional investment management at Truist Bank and the firms that preceded it, where he started and ran the bank's Nashville institutional investment practice. He has chaired CFA Society Nashville and currently chairs the Nashville Humane Association Foundation.
"Being able to deploy institutional-caliber investment resources to help mission-based organizations grow and fulfill their mission is one of the most rewarding parts of my career," said Hill. "Shepherding clients through the ups and downs of investing and driving meaningful impact across communities is what motivates us, and it was clear from the start that HB Wealth shares that mission."
Reese arrives having advised foundations, endowments, healthcare foundations and public charities for upward of 25 years, most recently leading Truist's Foundations and Endowments Specialty Practice on a regional basis. His board work includes trustee positions with the Jesse Parker Williams Foundation and Flagler College, where he also serves as vice chair of the endowment fund, plus chairing the investment committee at the CDC Foundation.
"Helping foundations, endowments, and public charities navigate their investment and governance challenges has been a guiding light throughout my career," said Reese. "HB Wealth's investment platform, commitment to high-touch client service, and expanding institutional capabilities make it an ideal partner for organizations seeking thoughtful fiduciary guidance. I'm eager to help build on that foundation."
Houck pointed to the firm's private markets buildout as the foundation the new practice will draw on.
"We've spent more than 30 years building an investment platform that includes over $5 billion in private market investments, including private equity, private debt, and real estate," said Houck. "That infrastructure was built to meet the complexity that institutional clients face. Institutional clients don't need us to start from scratch. They need what we've already built."
The institutional launch is the latest step in a broader effort at HB Wealth to build out and formalize separate business lines across the firm.
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