Christian Richards III, president and senior wealth advisor at Richards, Lathrop & Associates is redefining wealth management through personalized planning and concierge-level service for every client, regardless of assets

00:00 - Christian Richards III

We don't rank our clients.

00:04 - Gregg Greenberg

Welcome to Investment News Rising Stars 2026, where we celebrate the next generation of standout professionals under 40 who are redefining leadership and making a meaningful impact in wealth management across the United States. Today I'm joined by Christian Richards III, President and Senior Wealth Adviser at Richards, Lathrop and Associates. Christian, congratulations on being recognized as an investment news rising star 2026. It's a pleasure to have you with us.

00:31 - Christian Richards III

Thanks a lot, Greg. It's a pleasure to be here and uh you I can't say how uh happy I am to be able to spend some time here with you guys here today and talk about, you know, a little bit about myself and a lot about, you know, why we do what we do at Richards, Latrhop and Associates.

00:46 - Gregg Greenberg

Okay, let's kick it off. to begin. What does this recognition mean to you personally and how does it reflect the journey that brought you to where you are today?

00:58 - Christian Richards III

You know what? Uh first and foremost, I have to say, Greg, it's edification. Uh that being steadfast in my faith in God and in the following path uh that God set me on uh has never steered me wrong. And this is, you know, another leg of that, if you will. Um, it also makes me proud in the work that Michael and I do for our clients. To be able to have the early success that we've had here, you know, in our first nine months, uh, of being a wealth management firm is, in my estimation, mostly a testament to the relationships we've been able to build, uh, and the high degree of efficacy our clients have in us over these last, you know, 15 years. Um, and then lastly, you know, personally, uh, it's a little bittersweet. You know, growing up, you I aspired to be in law and government, and my mother, Kelly, actually was the one who, who always told me that she saw me in finance, and, uh, she passed away a couple years ago. Uh so to be here today to you know be on this journey um you know is a bit bitter that she can't be here but a lot of sweet because I know that she's you know watching and she's proud. Uh and then lastly, you know, just the this journey um has been a circuitous one, right? You know, my background isn't one of the quintessential, you know, wealth manager. Um so, uh again, it just, you know, edifies for me um the faith in in in God and you know, where he's taking me.

02:22 - Gregg Greenberg

Well, speaking of family, service and community were a big part of how you were raised. How has that carried into the way you work with clients and the kind of advisor you've wanted to become?

02:41 - Christian Richards III

Sure. Yeah, absolutely. Greg, they, you know, my parents were community activists first. Um, and, you know, really focused on making sure that they instill within their children, uh, this responsibility, uh, that, you know, the things that we do in our community, the ways that we pour into other people is just as important as our successes, whether it's on the playing fields, right, or in business. And so, you know, it's a core tenant of what we do at Richard's Lake and Associates. you know, every single decision that we make, whether it's, you know, what uh what lunch to put out for our clients or, you know, what goes into our, you know, uh communications with our clients. And then, you know, the client experience, you know, what resources our clients have um afforded to them are all things that I think, you know, we're really driven by uh this this this indoctrination of responsibility, community first, and service first.

03:43 - Gregg Greenberg

Well, back in college, you started seeing some of the financial gaps facing athletes like yourself and others who weren't always well served by traditional financial advice. So, what did that teach you about where financial guidance was falling short?

04:13 - Christian Richards III

Sure. Well, you know, two ways really, Greg. the first and I don't believe that this is exclusive to the financial services industry but you know in in large parts our society at large where often times those that need resources the most don't have the funds to be able to access them and those that can afford them are often the one often times the ones that you know probably need them less. Um, you know, I tell a lot of my clients that fall on the higher end of the socioeconomic spectrum that, you know, you've done the heavy lifting and being diligent in saving and investing, right? It's the people that um probably fall lower, you know, on the socioeconomic scale. They need our, you know, services the most. and in especially in the ways in which I think our industry has evolved over the last 15 years that I've been in the industry. You know, I've seen a more corporatization uh of the industry where uh if you don't fall, you know, at a certain threshold from an assets under management, you may not get the same level of service as somebody who you who did. Um and that is quintessentially the antithesis of how we decided to build Richards Blake up and Associates. Um and then second in in second uh way I think you know our industry uh could do better and I do see you know doing better is representation. I think representation is everything. Uh the reason I wanted to be a lawyer was being a young African-American growing up in Los Angeles there were many prominent attorneys that I saw on my TV. um you know every so often. Um and then that coupled with my upbringing in a household where community activism, social justice were tenants of how I was being raised. Uh I think it it engenders within me a responsibility to um provide a representation of maybe another you know route that you know hopefully you know there will be a young kid watching this and believe that he can be a great financial adviser because he sees me and that doesn't necessarily Greg uh mean look like me but the fact that I represent a segment of society that often times uh are not uh serviced by the traditional wealth management industry. Um you know in in falling in different demographics where that may have been overlooked by the industry and that's you know whether it's a minority whether it's women um whether it's people that come from you know places that fall on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale. hopefully seeing me um you know and what I've been able to build here with my partner Michael Leope um you know is motivation and maybe it you know stokes and picks the interests of the next young Christian Richards and uh that that's you know one of my goals as well um in in being somebody that uh can help facilitate that next generation uh of wealth managers.

07:22 - Gregg Greenberg

Well, your career started in data entry and grew from there through licensing, mentorship, and eventually building your own approach to working with clients. So, what lessons from those early years have stayed with you the most?

07:38 - Christian Richards III

Yeah, I think that the biggest thing is um integrity. you know, there are a lot of a myriad of different, you know, anecdotes that, you know, I'm sure you and you most of us have heard about um you the ways in which some uh individuals in this industry don't necessarily operate or haven't always necessarily operated with the highest levels of integrity. Um and you know from my experience you know when you are you know dealing with people's financial future when you are dealing with you know you're kind of touching uh the most intimate parts of an individual or a household and so you know having integrity and building a relationship uh that is based on that I think has served me the best you know and I think um also um you know just being driven and being uh someone that doesn't take no for an answer when it comes to going after your goals and that's not necessarily just in this industry, but it's been, you know, one of the ways I think I've been able to progress uh throughout um my career so far. Um in addition to, you know, the help, right? You mentioned the mentorship and I you know certainly with a background that is not in a traditional field of study uh for most wealth managers you know my degree was in history um you know without the mentors without the David Meltzers um who set me on the path that you know I am on um you know I wouldn't be here so I would say those two things right the in integrity and being a person that operates uh with integrity and then you know being driven and having mentors um that will put you in the right places and guide you um have been I think the biggest uh boons to my career and where what I've been able to do this far.

09:26 - Gregg Greenberg

Founding Richards, Lathrop and Associates gave you the chance to build the kind of firm you wanted from the ground up. So what did you want to do differently particularly in the way clients experience the relationship?

09:44 - Christian Richards III

Sure. Well, interestingly enough, Greg, you I was I mentioned, you know, my mentor David Meltzer and I was fortunate enough to be, you know, raised, if you will, in this business and a smaller boutique type of firm. You know, we were just over half a million in assets under management. Um and uh it everyone you know got the same level of service you know and so to answer your question I think the biggest difference is you know we are going back to you know that white glove concierge level of service customizable uh strategies uh that I was originally raised uh in this business um to do but the that that has given way I think to customize or to scalability and a profit margins, right? When you when you were you customizing every individual household's uh financial plan or investment portfolio, it's time consuming, right? And from a profit standpoint, that's probably not the best way to manage your business, but we think uh it's the right way uh to manage our clients uh financial portfolios and implement uh strategies specific to each of them. So the differences today are actually in a lot of ways what the foundation of wealth management was built on. you know, every one of our clients to speak specifically to the client experience question. You know, everyone gets a financial plan no matter how much assets under management we have, right? I think that's, you know, unique to Richard Le and Associates, right? You know, you don't get a financial plan um because you have a certain level of assets with us. It's important that everybody understands the where they are um on their on the road to their uh financial objectives and goals. Um and we believe you know everyone that decides to work with us deserves that. Um the other the other uh thing I would say there where client experience is concerned is everybody gets the same level of and access to client resources. We have a financial planning system that we use and is, you know, kind of ubiquitous in our industry. Um, and at previous firms that I worked at, you were only able to get access to that if you, you know, had a certain assets under management. You know, we believe everybody and yeah, as I mentioned earlier, right, the people that probably need the resources the most are the people that, you know, aren't as financially secure as others. And so, you know, everyone has the same access to resources. Um, everyone gets the same concierge white glove service, right? We take pride in answering our clients, taking every call, even if I can't deal with the issue at that moment, uh, or responding to, you know, emails within 24 hours. Those are core tenants of what we do that I don't necessarily think permeate through the, you know, broader wealth management industry. um we don't rank our clients, right? A lot of uh a lot of firms, you know, will rank clients based on again, you know, revenue generation or certain metrics that in my mind have nothing to do with um the level of service we are providing to our clients. Um so, so those are the client experience things, but I think also um some of the other ancillary things that we do is you know, we meet our clients in person, right? or about 80% of the clients that we serve um I meet with them in person either for lunch or um to catch up um you know we uh don't stick we uh manage customized portfolios especially where financial planning is concerned strategies are tailored to our clients um and then you know we it's a big thing for us again getting back to the you know, responsibility uh to our communities. You know, we are implementing, you know, internships u scholarship programs um to help facilitate the you know, growth of our industry um in the next generation. And I think that happens a lot. Um uh so I don't I don't think that's unique to Richard Leather and Associates, but it's something that means a lot to us. Um and then employees matter in and in this industry. What I've seen um from my vantage point is advisors are tend to be valued but other ancillary professionals that you know are essential to the service we provide as advisers to our clients don't necessarily get valued uh to the same degree for me coming from a team background right I understand that you know everyone has a role um and success is only um attained when everyone fulfills their role and you know for that reason um I think you know having a priority uh in in treating the employees that you know we employ at Richard's Lake and Associates is paramount as well to what we do.

14:55 - Gregg Greenberg

Finally looking beyond this recognition what kind of mark do you hope to leave whether that's on your clients younger advisers coming into the profession or the communities that you serve?

15:15 - Christian Richards III

Yes, sir. Well, uh, in all of those categories, you know, I want to be looked at and I want my clients, I want my sons, I have um I'm a father and I want my boys, I want my community and I want my clients um to all say that, you know, Christian was a person of integrity. um when they are giving my eulogy, I want them to say that I poured more into individuals, into my community, into my clients, into my family, uh than you know maybe was poured into me. Um paying it forward and um I love saying that, you know, I I'm proud of myself. Um, but I know that I would not be here if it weren't for, you know, beginning with the foundation that, you know, Christian Jr. and Kelly Richards instilled in me. Um, but also the mentors that I've had along the way. And I want those people uh to be proud uh of the time spent with me. And I want, you know, my posterity to be proud of, you know, the hopefully the, you know, great foundation I've set for them. And I want my clients and future clients to be proud to be associated with Richard Leather and Associates. And I think um we're on our way to doing that.

16:30 - Gregg Greenberg

Well, Christian, congratulations again on being named an investment news rising star 2026. Thank you for sharing your story and giving us a sense of what has shaped the way you approach the profession. It's been great hearing where that perspective has come from and where you hope to take it next.

16:58 - Christian Richards III

Thanks a lot, Greg. I appreciate it. Uh thank you for your time and thank you investment news for this recognition not just for me but Richards Lathrop and Associates. Uh we hope to continue to move the ball forward and raise the bar.

17:15 - Gregg Greenberg

And to our viewers, thanks for watching and stay tuned as we continue to celebrate the rising generation of professionals shaping the future of wealth management across the United States.

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