Registered investment advisors are continuing to focus on talent recruitment and retention, with Oxford Financial Group, Dynasty-backed SageSpring Wealth, and NewEdge Wealth each announcing new hires and equity owners this week.
Oxford Financial Group, the Carmel, Indiana-based RIA overseeing more than $38 billion in assets under advisement, has named Neal Davis and Ashlee Walton as managing directors at its Cincinnati office.
The appointments mark the fifth and sixth additions to that office in the past year and underscore the ongoing push by large independent RIA firms to deepen their presence in the Midwest.
Davis, who previously served as vice president and senior portfolio manager in the private client group at Fort Washington Investment Advisors, joins as chief investment officer for the office and will lead client relationships on the investment management side. Before joining Fort Washington, he spent nine years at Buckingham Advisors as a senior portfolio manager. Davis brings a research-driven discipline honed over more than a decade working with high-net-worth families and institutions.
Walton comes from Goldstone Financial Group, where she served as senior advisor and tax strategist. Before that, she built James Investment Research's financial planning framework and served as lead advisor on its most complex client relationships. A familiar name among CPAs, attorneys, and planning professionals, her work at Oxford will focus on multigenerational families, foundations and endowments, covering estate planning, tax strategy, business succession, philanthropy and trust administration.
"Neal and Ashlee have both spent their careers in this region, so they already know this market and the people in it," said Jeffrey H. Thomasson, CEO and managing director of Oxford Financial Group.
Oxford currently operates seven offices across Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Palm Beach, and has 25 managing directors serving family and institutional clients nationwide.
Franklin, Tennessee-based SageSpring Wealth Partners has promoted five advisors to equity partner, continuing a model it has pursued since becoming advisor-owned in 2021.
The class of new partners include Chase Keen, Daniel Peterman, Jason Plunkett, Ryan Terry and Jackson Wilcox – all senior vice presidents or higher within the firm.
SageSpring, which officially joined the Dynasty Financial Partners network last year, selects new partners through an evaluation process that weighs leadership, business impact and cultural alignment. Since transitioning to full independence in 2021, the firm has now welcomed nine new equity partners in total.
“Equity partnership at SageSpring is earned through consistent performance and meaningful leadership. These individuals have each played an important role in the growth and strength of SageSpring through the impact they’ve made across the firm and for the clients they serve," Jeff Dobyns, founder and president of SageSpring Wealth Partners.
Each of the five new partners will continue advising clients while contributing to the firm's strategic direction and advisor development. SageSpring has described expanding ownership from within as central to its long-term growth model, which is designed to align the interests of the firm, its advisors and its clients while remaining free from proprietary product obligations.
NewEdge Capital Group announced that a team led by James Nichols has joined NewEdge Wealth, adding a new downtown Nashville office for the ultra-high-net-worth-focused RIA.
Nichols, who spent nearly two decades at wire houses including UBS and Morgan Stanley/Smith Barney, joins as principal and will advise entrepreneurs and business owners around liquidity events.
Two additional team members – Erin Thomas as vice president of client service, and Lena Schelzig as analyst – round out the new office.
NewEdge Wealth now has more than 60 ultra-high-net-worth advisors across 16 locations nationally, with offices spanning New York, Stamford, Connecticut, Atlanta, Chicago, Miami and San Francisco. The firm is a division of NewEdge Capital Group, which reported over $80 billion in assets as of October 31, 2025.
The move this week extends a deliberate regional strategy NewEdge Wealth kicked off in Nashville when Rich Ina joined the firm in 2023. The firm's sibling RIA, NewEdge Advisors, has also expanded in the area – adding the 24-member ClearTrust Wealth Advisors team in nearby Franklin, Tennessee, and welcoming Wealth Strategies Partners in late 2025.
Rob Sechan, managing director and co-founder of NewEdge Wealth in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pointed to Nashville's economic expansion as the driver behind the move, citing the relocation of iHeartMedia, Amazon and Oracle to the city over the past five years as catalysts for significant new wealth creation in the region.
“Central Tennessee has seen an explosion of growth for nearly a decade, with large tech firms, startups and established industries creating significant wealth in the region,” said Rob Sechan, managing director and co-founder of NewEdge Wealth. "James’ extensive experience supporting local business owners as they navigate the changing landscape will enhance our ability to serve this important and growing market."
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