Three former Goldman Sachs advisors today announced their launch of a new RIA firm based in Monterey, Calif.
Modern Wealth Management is a national RIA founded by Gary Roth, Mike Capelle, and Jason Gordo. The firm has $200 million in equity capital backing from Crestview Partners, a private equity firm with experience investing in financial services businesses. The firm will be led by Roth and Capelle as co-CEOs, and Gordo as president.
The three are veterans of United Capital Financial Advisers, which was bought by Goldman in 2019. United Capital was once a huge acquirer itself, and by the time of its purchase by Goldman had become a $25 billion firm with 220 financial advisors after closing more than 90 advisor acquisitions during Roth, Capelle and Gordo’s time there. Goldman’s purchase price for United Capital was reportedly around $750 million.
Modern Wealth is already mapping out a strategy for acquisitions across the United States that is focused on RIAs primed for growth, the three leaders said.
The firm plans to take a team approach to advising clients, using a complement of specialists, including CFPs, tax planners, risk managers, CFAs, estate planners and others, they said.
“Upon meeting Mike, Gary and the rest of the team, I recognized a tremendous opportunity and quickly made the decision to join them in creating what I believe to be something special,” Gordo said in a statement. Gordo was one of the architects of FinLife Partners at United Capital and head of advisor growth at Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management. “Here at Modern Wealth, we’re bringing a fresh partnership approach with an end goal of modernizing the way a wealth management firm serves and cares for clients.”
Roth added in a statement, “We’re thrilled to be working alongside Crestview as we usher in a new solution for our industry. We were drawn to Crestview due to both its experience in the space and its track record of partnering with management teams to build rapidly growing businesses.
“We’re confident that our proven experience and approach, bolstered by capital and a value-add partner in Crestview, positions us extremely well to be an active acquirer in the industry while continuing to better the advisor and client experience,” he added. Roth was chief business officer and chief financial officer at United Capital as well as head of advisor strategy at Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management.
“Advisors are being left behind as the leading edge of industry is forcing them to broaden their scope of services,” Capelle said in a statement. At United Capital, Capelle was chief platform officer and he was head of product at Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management. “Clients want clarity and control of their finances,” he said, “and we plan for our platform to extend beyond investment management to offer customized, digital views of their financial lives [and] how they are progressing toward key goals.”
Modern Wealth is already in numerous discussions with RIAs that are interested in joining as anchor offices as the firm builds out its national footprint, the firm said.
Founded in 2004, Crestview is a private equity firm focused on the middle market. The firm is based in New York and manages funds with approximately $10 billion of aggregate capital commitments.