The investment firm founded by Joe Duran, founder and onetime leader of United Capital, has put down its first stake, investing in a hybrid RIA firm in New Jersey.
Duran’s recently launched firm, Rise Growth Partners, has invested a serious eight-figure amount in New Jersey wealth manager Bleakley Financial Group. The stake will help Bleakley build its national platform and create an equity ownership program for its advisors.
The 30% stake in Bleakley, a Fairfield, N.J., firm with nearly $10 billion in assets, is Rise’s first equity investment since being launched by Duran, who sold United Capital to Goldman Sachs in 2019 for $750 million.
The cultural fit between United Capital and Goldman proved diffiicult and Goldman ultimately sold the advisory operations of Creative Planning in 2023 and exited the business of owning RIAs, though it continues to expand its custodian business. Many United Capital advisors left and moved to other firms. While United Capital focused primarily on acquiring small and mid-sized advisors, Duran’s new aim with Rise is to find RIAs with $3 billion to $8 billion in assets to invest in.
In a press release last week, Rise said the investment will allow Bleakley to attract growth-focused firms and advisory teams—as well as individual advisors—to its fast-growing platform. Founded in 1985 as a practice affiliated with Northwestern Mutual, Bleakley has grown mainly through advisor recruitment. After leaving the insurance company, Bleakley joined Private Advisor Group, an office of supervisory jurisdiction of LPL Financial, in 2015. The firm then went independent, though it still reportedly has about $4 billion of assets affiliated with LPL.
The Rise capital infusion gives the RIA the financial war chest to lean into the M&A game to buttress its organic growth.
“As a firm built by advisors for advisors, our focus has always been on growth. We take pride in consistently delivering high-caliber planning and investment strategies to our clients,” said co-founder Andy Schwartz in a statement. Schwartz co-founded Bleakley with his twin brother, Scott.
“For a long time, we have considered bringing on a partner to accelerate our evolution into a nationally recognized firm,” Andy Schwartz said. “In Rise, we found a strategic partner with not only capital but also the expertise to expand a national firm that attracts top-tier growth-oriented advisors.”
Duran, whose firm raised $250 million from Charlesbank Capital Partners in February, cited, among other attractions, Bleakley’s consistent growth, client-centric culture and experienced management team when it selected the RIA as its inaugural investment.
“From the inception of Rise and with each new addition to our team, our focus has never been solely on deal-making, but on making a meaningful impact,” said Duran, managing partner and CEO of Rise, in a statement. “Bleakley exemplifies all the essential pillars we seek in firms that we will partner with to build a lighthouse brand in the industry. Rise looks forward to accelerating and supporting that growth.”
Duran Sees New Bleakley As ‘National Powerhouse’
In an email to Financial Advisor, Duran addressed Bleakley’s growth potential and why he considers taking minority stakes in RIAs to be a profitable strategy.
Rise, he said, has already provided Bleakley with an equity line that that he believes will help the RIA develop into a “national powerhouse, well beyond its current size.”
“We’re here to help them scale,” he said.
Duran, who was born in Barcelona and grew up in a couple of African countries, is a New York Times bestselling author of The Money Code: Improve Your Entire Financial Life Right Now. He reportedly made $75 million to $150 million from the sale of United Capital to Goldman.
“What really draws us to the RIA space is the deep, enduring relationships independent advisors build with their clients—relationships that often span generations,” Duran, who lives in Newport Beach, Calif., said in the email.
When asked about other pending deals, Duran would say only that Rise is always in talks with “impressive” firms but is “highly selective.”
“We’re looking for firms with a cohesive culture, strong leadership, a scalable platform, and a proven track record of growth,” he explained. “When we partner with a firm, it’s about driving them toward outcomes they couldn’t achieve alone. So while we’re always exploring opportunities, we’re in no rush—the right fit is what matters most.”
Bleakley Wants To Grow Assets To $50 Billion
In an email, Andy Schwartz said that with the help of Rise, Bleakley could “comfortably scale to 100 [plus] advisors and $50 billion-plus [assets] over next five years.”
He also said management’s goal is to develop a national presence with major hubs in six to eight cities across the country and that the firm is targeting growth-oriented advisors.
“We are actively speaking with several firms and teams and expect to make announcements in the first half of 2025,” Schwartz said, adding that he doesn’t anticipate challenges in finding prospective deals.
“With our new partnership, we can offer a full suite of attractive options, including 1099 affiliation or up-front equity and liquidity for advisors seeking partnership,” he said. “We will take the time to get to know teams deeply, as it is important for us to only bring in teams that are a strong cultural fit.”