New Jersey-based $5 billion RIA Journey Strategic Wealth has become the first external acquisition for Hightower Signature Wealth, the W-2 based advisor model that the mega-RIA Hightower Advisors rolled out last year.
Hightower Signature Wealth launched in October with its first six practices all being firms that transitioned from Hightower’s traditional independent RIA network that spans around 650 advisors across 33 states managing roughly $350 billion in client assets. Journey’s acquisition pushes Hightower Signature Wealth to $25 billion in assets, with the company expecting Signature Wealth to reach $40-$50 billion in assets by the end of this year.
“I do think Hightower Signature Wealth is largely the future of Hightower,” said Hightower CEO Larry Restieri. “That doesn't mean we don't still have independent firms, it doesn't mean we wouldn't still acquire an independent advisor. But really [Signature Wealth] is our focus, and the reason is it allows us to do things just in a much more streamlined way.”
RIAs that operate under the consolidated Signature Wealth brand access onboarding, billing, client lifecycle management services, and tax and estate planning services from Hightower. They also receive marketing growth support and a centralized investment platform led by Hightower’s chief investment strategist Stephanie Link and NEPC, the Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) firm acquired by Hightower in 2024.
“I've always said independence has nothing to do with tax classification, how you get paid, or how your firm is structured. Independence has to do with am I spending the majority of my time doing what I love and what I enjoy?,” said Journey’s co-founder Penny Phillips. “I think the future of the independent space is this integrated business model.”
Phillips now becomes head of advisor strategy and client experience at Hightower Signature Wealth, which totals roughly 70 advisors across over 25 locations. Journey, which serves nearly 1,000 clients, carries 24 staff including 16 advisors transitioning into W-2 employees under Hightower. According to Hightower’s chief advisor officer Scott Hadley, the majority of Hightower's M&A conversations are with firms whose preference is to join Signature Wealth over the traditional independent affiliate route.
“You can see that the tides have turned from being a, we want to be fully autonomous and we'll let you have a piece of our business and we'll use you as a platform, to a place where Hightower Signature Wealth is giving you the parameters and allowing you to have that entrepreneurial spirit,” said Hadley. “The ones who largely want to stay independent are the ones who are smaller and looking to grow bigger, and they want that ability to continue to grow on their own before they kind of sell their entire shares to somebody like a Hightower.”
The majority of Signature Wealth’s asset growth towards doubling in size by the end of this year is expected to come via more Hightower firms set to move away from its independent model.
“Part of what we're doing at Hightower Signature Wealth is about growth and what a lot of advisors want is leads, prospects. And by having an actual B2C brand, this allows us to direct leads into one source. So as we build out our digital lead capabilities, they will go through Hightower Signature Wealth,” Restieri said. "We'll be comfortably at probably $40 or $50 billion by the end of the year. It's in large part because we can see where we think the internal consolidation will happen, but there'll be some more external as well."
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