We Announce Winners Across Twelve Categories, Explore Next Gen Issues, Alternative Investments And A Compliance Conference, And Cover Recruiting Moves, Equity Initiatives And New Wealthtech Leadership
To My Fellow WSR Community Members:

My team and I enjoyed granting awards to some of the most prominent executives and professionals in the wealth management industry throughout the year with the WSR Pathfinder Awards, and now the time has finally arrived to cap off a year of recognizing the best in the industry by announcing the winners of the WSR Wealth Exemplar Awards.
We spent countless hours over the past several weeks examining outstanding firms and individuals for the invitation-only awards, and we are encouraged that there are so many exemplary people and firms improving and growing our industry with vision and skill.
We named exemplary companies, industry-changing individuals and trendsetting M&A deals in twelve categories, all equally deserving and in no particular order, announcing them together with links to the details on each award category and its winners.

We also bring you this week’s Recruitment Roundup, a discussion on growth and success with the CEO of an award-winning firm, a guest editorial on Next Gen issues from another winning firm’s CEO, useful advice on alternative investments, a review of the ComplyConnect conference, leadership changes and new initiatives by a leading African American industry group and new leadership at a wealthtech firm.
This Week’s Issue
Here’s what we have for you this week:

- In Upmarket, we announce the WSR Wealth Exemplar Awards winners across twelve categories covering hybrid and fee-based advisors, asset managers and alts platforms, private equity-backed firms, deals of the year, retirement plans and solutions providers, person of the year, practice management platforms, wealthtech and family offices. For these awards we bring you:
- An article announcing the names of each winner in every category,
- Articles covering each category and its winners in detail,
- An interview with Raj Bhattacharyya, CEO of Fee-Based RIA of the Year winner Robertson Stephens, discussing how firms can contribute to the industry, successfully manage rapid growth and how the industry can improve.

- A guest editorial from Jeff Concepcion, CEO and Founder of Stratos Wealth Partners, a subsidiary of Private Equity-Backed Firm of the Year winner Stratos Wealth Holdings, making the case that currently available tools can enable advisors to integrate the Next Gen and successfully plan for succession.
- In our Newsmakers & Roundups section, this edition of Weekly Recruitments changes pace from the recent coverage of billion-dollar deals to recap three smaller and mid-sized transactions. We look at Prospera Financial Services recruiting the $180 million team Twin River Wealth Management in Pennsylvania, tru Independence adding the $250 million team Invenio Wealth Partners in Florida and Perigon Wealth Management acquiring the $330 million team Nauset Wealth Management in Connecticut.
- Also in Newsmakers & Roundups, the Association of African American Financial Advisors announces the appointment of Stifel Independent Advisors’ President and CEO Alex David as Chairman Emeritus, honors its groundbreaking Founder LeCount Davis, and announces upcoming equity initiatives including increased cooperation with historically Black colleges and universities, a stronger partnership with major financial institutions, a multiracial Advisory Board and heightened engagement with the Black community to close the racial wealth gap.
In case you missed it, last week we brought you news and insights across compliance, alternative investments and wealthtech:

- In Newsmakers & Roundups, we reported that Smarsh, a digital communications compliance and intelligence provider for organizations including financial services firms, appointed Mike Cagle as Chief Financial Officer and Leander LeSure as Chief People & Diversity Officer. They will focus on helping guide the regulatory technology (regtech) and software company through its next phase of growth.
- Too many industry conferences? Here’s a good one, according to our Expert Columnist, Compliance & Regulatory Affairs, Sander Ressler of Essential Edge. In Beltway & Beyond, he shares his experience at COMPLY’s new ComplyConnect conference, the compliance priorities it reveals, its successes and room for improvement. He also shares the results of our Compliance & Regulatory Survey.

- Where are the alts pitfalls hiding? In Investment Solutions & Gatekeepers, Steven Brod, CEO of Crystal Capital Partners, a winner of the WSR Wealth Exemplar Awards for Alternative Investments Platform of the Year, advises us on risks, red flags and considerations in choosing an alternatives platform.
Tell us your ideas and suggestions, and send us any questions you have for the experts!
Congratulate the award winners with us and share our other informative articles via social media, especially LinkedIn, and by email.
Have a great week!
Cheers!
Larry Roth, CEO
Wealth Solutions Report