Hightower, the Chicago-based registered investment advisor with interests in 111 advisory business, has taken a stake in Stearns Financial Group, a $1.3 billion RIA in North Carolina. The Stearns deal is Hightower's sixth transaction so far this year.
Stearns was established in 1991 and has offices in Chapel Hill and Greensboro, North Carolina. It has 32 employees, including 12 advisers.
The transaction, the details of which were not disclosed, is expected to close by the fourth quarter.
Also, Orion has added BlackRock, Fidelity, and Vanguard to its custom portfolios suite, and RedBlack has set up a new headquarters after crossing a trillion-dollar milestone.
Also, New York-based Legacy Edge Advisors names its first-ever CEO, while Novare Capital Management hires a Vanguard veteran with a multigenerational planning focus.
Asset managers are racing to bring private market products to retirement plans, but cost and liquidity concerns linger.
Treasury's latest tax-exemption crackdown on private schools lands in the wake of a separate push to restrict refundable credits for some immigrant filers.
Workforce trust measures predicted which companies came out ahead during COVID-19. The same dynamic may now be playing out across the AI transition — and the data suggests the spread could be just as wide.
Northern Trust’s Ken Lassner shows advisors how to convert volatility into after-tax portfolio gains
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income