Fairport Wealth, a registered investment advisor in Cleveland with about $3.7 billion in client assets, has appointed Mike Drennen to succeed Matt Logar as chief wealth officer, the company said.
Logar was promoted to chief executive officer last month, succeeding Ken Coleman, who retired after 25 years of leading Fairport Wealth.
Drennen formerly served as an executive director on the Advisor Engagement team at Chicago-based Hightower Advisors, Fairport Wealth’s parent company.
As chief wealth officer, Drennen will oversee the advice, growth, marketing, and training functions of the firm, including more than 30 direct reports across Fairport’s five offices. He will also contribute to the strategic direction of the organization as it continues to scale its business through M&A deals, the press release said.
Since becoming a Hightower advisory business in 2017, Fairport Wealth has grown from one office in Cleveland to five by acquiring practices in Buffalo, N.Y.; Chicago; Harrisburg, Pa.; and Princeton, N.J. Through its partnership with Hightower, Fairport Wealth has nearly doubled its size from 32 employees to more than 50, and increased the number of households it serves from nearly 700 to close to 2,000, the press release said.
“Mike brings tremendous experience in supporting advisors and empowering them with the counsel and resources needed to grow their practices while inspiring families,” Logar said in a prepared statement. “In his time working closely with Fairport while at Hightower, we learned that he is a culture fit as well. At the end of the day, this is a people business, and Mike has already been building impactful relationships at Fairport, earning the respect of our employees, advisors, and clients. He’ll be able to hit the ground sprinting.”
In an email, Drennen discussed his management style and how it would differ from that of Logar, who previously held the position of chief wealth officer he now holds.
“Our approach to leadership and management are actually very similar, which will be a nice complement as we collaborate together,” he said.
Financial Advisor asked Drennen which regional market had become the most competitive for recruiting advisors, as well as prospecting for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, and why. According to Drennen, the Covid-19 pandemic has been responsible for shrinking geographical limitations in scaling advisory practices as a result of greater reliance on technology.
“I view this as a massive opportunity for those firms whose teams can articulate their unique value proposition to both clients, as well as future advisor employees,” he said in the email. “At Fairport, we are proud of the reputation we have garnered in the industry and how we’ve differentiated ourselves from our competition, which has made us a magnet for top talent and prospective clients who are the right fit for the practice.”
Prior to joining Hightower, Drennen served as vice president of business consulting at Carson Group and spent eight years at Fidelity Investments. He began his career in the banking industry at Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati. Drennen holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Founded in 2008, Hightower reported having approximately $144.3 billion in assets under administration and $113.7 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022.