• Home: Leading Financial Advisor Recruiting Firm
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Testimonials
    • Case Studies
    • Representative Deals
  • Services
    • For Financial Advisors
    • For Independent Business Owners
  • FAQs
  • Articles
  • Podcast
    • Industry Update
    • Independence 101 Series
  • In the News
    • Moves in the News
  • Tools for Advisors
    • Advisor Transition Report 2022 – NEW!
    • Merrill Information Hub
    • UBS Information Hub
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe for Updates

Questions? Call us: 908-879-1002

Contact us...
Diamond Consultants: Financial Advisor Recruiting FirmDiamond Consultants: Financial Advisor Recruiting Firm
  • Home
  • About
    • Meet the Team
      • Mindy Diamond
      • Louis Diamond
      • Howard Diamond
      • Jason Diamond
      • Barbara Herman
      • Deborah Aronson
      • Wendy Leung
      • Cathy Nichols
      • Debbie Wallen
      • Allison Brunwasser
      • Joshua Tomolak
      • Shelley Muzio
      • Caryl Felicetta
      • Donna Riopel
      • Kelly Griffiths
    • Testimonials
    • Case Studies
    • Representative Deals
  • Services
    • For Financial Advisors
    • For Independent Business Owners
      • Sell-Side M&A Advisory
      • Consulting
  • FAQs
  • Articles
    • Subscribe for Updates
  • Podcast
    • Industry Update
    • Independence 101 Series
    • Subscribe for Updates
  • In the News
    • Moves in the News
    • Transition Announcements
  • Tools For Advisors
    • NEW – Diamond Consultants Advisor Transition Report 2022
    • Merrill Information Hub
    • UBS Information Hub
    • Other Tools
    • Subscribe to e-Newsletter

In the News

How Cresset Became a $27 Billion Wealth Manager in Under Five Years by Recruiting Top Private Bankers and Aggressive M&A

Posted by Louis Diamond

July 26, 2022
Louis Diamond Quoted
by Hayley Cuccinello

In his own words, Avy Stein flunked retirement.

In 2010, the then-chief executive of a private equity firm was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma. He decided to step back from Willis Stein & Partners in order to focus on his health, but he didn’t rest for long.
Two years later, an acquaintance and fellow private equity executive Eric Becker reached out to Stein. Becker’s daughter had died of leukemia, and he wanted retirement advice. The two became friends as well as co-investors in a few companies and real estate developments.

By 2016, they knew they wanted to start a company together. Both were dissatisfied clients of multifamily offices and wealth managers. Their chief complaint was lack of access to direct private investments. They decided to start their own firm, and after a year of research, they launched Cresset Asset Management in November 2017.“Eric and I had life events that forced us to step back a little bit,” Stein, 67, told Insider. “Neither of us had planned to do that, and when we did, I think we gained clarity on what we really wanted to do, and that was to build something great.”

Less than five years later, the Chicago-based RIA has $27 billion in assets under management and a headcount topping 300. Cresset’s growth has been fueled by luring top advisors from household-name private banks and making five acquisitions, most recently buying the $5.4 billion wealth advisory firm Meristem in May. The firm is also expanding its private investment offerings, such as a new private credit fund.

Co-chairmen Stein and Becker were Cresset’s first investors and clients. The firm launched its family office arm a year after its founding, and making two acquisitions when Cresset was two years old.
“We wanted to build a firm that was built by clients for clients, unlike groups that spin out of a bank or wirehouse with a few clients. They’re concerned about profitability from the get-go,” Stein told Insider. “We weren’t concerned about building something – like any other startup – that wasn’t going to necessarily make money for a period of years. It was going to be built the way we wanted to build it.

Cresset uses creative compensation deals and equity to recruit top private bankers.
When Cresset first launched, the firm initially sought higher-end wirehouse teams to build its advisory base, according to recruiter Louis Diamond, who has worked with Cresset. Since then the firm’s focus has switched to private bankers and acquiring RIAs. Cresset has hired top advisors from household-name firms including Bank of America Private Bank and Goldman Sachs.

“Even though their headcount is not as high as the private banks, the teams they are attracting are the top groups within those private banks,” Diamond said.
The firm can offer attractive custom deals, Diamond said. Enticements range from upfront cash payments, a bonus based on how much of their assets are brought over to Cresset, or a percentage of revenue.

Read more…

 

 

You may also be interested in...

Share
0

About Louis Diamond

President – Someone who “looks at every angle from a strategic perspective.” Sophisticated advisors and business owners alike learn quickly that they’ve found the right person in Louis when seeking counsel and clarity on growth, career management and the ever-changing industry landscape. Learn more...

    Recent News & Articles

    • As Wealth Managers Move To Diversify Customers’ Idle Cash, SVB’s Own Advisors Head For Exits
    • Winners and Losers: The Year that Was in the Wealth Management Recruiting Space
    • Recruiters Reveal Their Secrets On Cultivating A Robust Advisor Pipeline
    • What Really Makes Financial Advisors Happy?
    • The big questions facing SVB advisors and their clients
    See. Here. Now.
    We're available to answer your questions. Contact us

    Connect with us

    Search

    © 2023 · Diamond Financial Consultants, LLC t/a Diamond Consultants. All rights reserved.*

    • Leading Financial Advisor Recruiting Firm:
    • About
    • Services
    • FAQs
    • Articles
    • Podcast
    • News/Media
    • Tools/Resources
    • Contact
    • Our Locations
    • Privacy Policy
    • Site Map