RIA aggregator United Capital expanded its leadership team by hiring Gail Graham, formerly executive vice president at Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, and Stephanie Bogan, formerly CEO of Quantuvis Consulting.

Graham was named United Capital's head of strategy and execution while Bogan becomes head of business model development. Backed by several firms including Bessemer Ventures, United Capital is building a national RIA firm and has 40 offices across the nation with more than $14 billion in assets.

United Capital CEO Joe Duran said in a prepared statement that "the addition of these two top-notch people, who bring enormous experience to our company, highlights that we are a growing influence in today's financial landscape."

Graham, one of the more imaginative marketing executives in financial services, said she was grateful for "the many years" at Fidelity where she enjoyed working with many "creative people." But the opportunity to work with a start-up venture offered a challenge she accepted.

United Capital is trying to build a common brand and common business model and taking an approach that systemizes its marketing to provide investors with a consistent client experience. The goal is "to help people face hard money decisions and help them understand how emotional money is," Graham said.

United Capital's advice model includes such programs as Honest Conversations and The Money Mind Analyzer. They impressed Graham enough to join the firm.

Bogan will focus on developing best practices for the firms in United Capital's network. She shared Graham's enthusiasm for the firm's approach to the behavioral aspects of personal finance. "I am excited to be part of a firm that understands that finances are an emotional topic for consumers," Bogan said. "I believe that the industry is at an inflection point, which most companies are not reacting to."

She also said that "advisors provide great value to their clients" but that their inability "to scale their businesses" is holding the entire profession back. Many RIA firms' leaders fail to delegate key responsibilities, hindering their growth prospects. Frequently, they fail to hire the right people and don't develop the prerequisite processes conducive to growth. She believes that increasing regulatory requirements will make these enhancements necessary if RIAs are to prosper in the future.