LinePoint Partners, Stephens add new HNW planning leaders

Two prominent wealth management firms are strengthening their leadership teams with hires focused on advanced planning and tax strategy, aiming to support advisors and clients navigating increasingly complex financial landscapes.

On Friday, LinePoint Partners announced it has named Dan Cole as chief financial officer and head of advanced wealth planning.

Cole, who previously held senior roles at Audax Group's embedded family office and the Lowy Family Group, brings more than a decade of experience in structuring trusts, tax strategies, and multigenerational wealth plans for ultra-high-net-worth families. Apart from his work at SFOs, he has quided next-gen leaders and overseen initiatives to modernize reporting, governance, and ERP systems as part of broader finance transformations.

At LinePoint, he will oversee financial strategy and accounting operations, while also leading the firm’s in-house advanced planning services for affiliated advisors and single-family office executives.

“Having spent my career inside multibillion-dollar family offices, I’ve seen firsthand the complexity and sophistication required to serve ultra-high-net-worth families effectively,” Cole said in the announcement. He added that LinePoint’s platform “brings that same caliber of expertise and infrastructure into a platform built for ultra-high-net-worth financial advisors and emerging single family offices.”

Robertino Coury, founder and chief executive of LinePoint, said Cole’s arrival “adds to the breadth and depth of a leadership team that is rapidly scaling across operations, investments, marketing, and advisory.” Coury noted that Cole’s expertise will help deliver “comprehensive planning support across trust and estate, tax, wealth transfer, governance and succession, and philanthropy” to affiliated advisors and family office executives.

In July, LinePoint Partners announced another C-level hire, James Chirdo, who joined as COO and chief compliance officer after a managing director role at Rockefeller Capital Management.

Stephens Private Wealth Management has also made a key hire this week, appointing Jason Thomas as managing director and chief tax and wealth planning strategist.

Based in Little Rock, Thomas now leads the firm’s wealth planning and strategy group, supporting both financial consultants and the investment banking team. His background includes roles at Frost, PLLC, Morgan Keegan, Rose Law Firm, and Arthur Andersen, with a focus on high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and closely held businesses.

Thomas’s arrival follows recent efforts by Stephens to expand its advisory and consulting services, particularly around complex income and transfer tax issues. The firm has also enhanced its collaboration with clients’ personal tax and legal advisors, aiming to deliver more integrated and customized solutions.

Stephens has been building out its bench of financial consultants over the summer, welcoming William Holmes and Grace Wages as financial consultants at its Atlanta, Georgia office last month. Before that, it hired Josh McCord as vice president and financial consultant in Shreveport, LA.

“Jason’s addition underscores our commitment to delivering a highly differentiated approach to wealth management, tailored to the evolving needs of our clients,” said Kevin Scanlon, executive vice president and head of Stephens Private Wealth Management. He added that Thomas “brings a multifaceted perspective to navigating both opportunities and challenges.”