People & Company News, Week of October 3, 2025
- Wealth management executives Alexander Despo and Cason Searan have joined Raymond James as managing director and VP, respectively. Despo joins Raymond James’ healthcare investment banking practice, where he will lead the life sciences IT division. Before joining Raymond James, Despo served as director and head of healthtech at Union Square Advisors, where he founded and built its life sciences IT investment banking practice. Despo previously held roles at Crosstree Capital, Houlihan Lokey, and Jefferies. Searan will work with Despoto to support the expansion of the firm’s life sciences IT division.
- Industry veteran Paul Polese has been tapped to serve as community leader of RIA Blueprint at Cetera Financial Group. Polese will lead Blueprint’s sales and relationship management. Prior to joining Cetera, Polese founded BCA Consultants, a firm that helps advisors transition to independence. Polese previously held roles at BNY’s Pershing, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity.
- Angel Taylor has been appointed as the first chief human resources officer of Prime Capital Financial. In her role, Taylor will oversee the firm’s people strategy, leading human resources across all units, and will focus on advancing the firm’s people strategy, including leadership development, workforce planning, and developing the firm’s financial advisors and associates. Before joining Prime Capital Financial, Taylor served as head of people and culture at TreviPay, where she led various initiatives and implemented strategic human resources practices. Taylor will be based out of the Prime Capital Financial headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas.
- Sara Schuman has joined Beacon Global Strategies as a managing director to lead the firm’s newly launched international trade practice. The practice assists clients in navigating international trade, economic and national security, and geopolitical risk. Prior to joining Beacon Global Strategies, Schuman was a senior trade representative for China at the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Schuman played a key role in the negotiation of the Phase One Agreement with China and in the Section 301 investigation of China in 2018.
- John Guzzo has been named managing director within Houlihan Lokey’s financial services group. Guzzo, who is based in New York, will further strengthen the firm’s mortgage services practice. Prior to joining Houlihan Lokey, he was a managing director at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel company, where he led the mortgage technology and proptech investment banking practice within the fintech and financial services group.
- Wealth management veteran Jodi Rolland has joined U.S. Bancorp as president of Affluent Wealth Management and will also assume the role of CEO for U.S. Bancorp Investments and U.S. Bancorp Advisors. Rolland will oversee the nationwide network of U.S. Bank Wealth Management’s Affluent employees of U.S Bank and its affiliates, USBI and USBA. Previously, Rolland was a managing director and divisional director for consumer banking at JPMorgan Chase, where she oversaw the firm’s retail banking operations for the Greater West region.
- Adam Bettis and Trish Connelly have joined Alera Group, an insurance and financial services firm, as senior partner and relationship manager, respectively. The Overland Park, KS-based duo joined Alera Group on July 1 and bolsters Alera Group’s presence in the Kansas City market.
- Sam Schaefer has been named CEO of property management at JLL. In the newly created role, Schaefer will oversee the property management-related services worldwide. Schaefer also joins JLL’s real estate management services board. Schaefer, based in Boston, will report to Neil Murray, JLL’s global CEO of real estate management services. Before joining JLL, Schaefer previously served as principal at Trammell Crow Company.
- Financial advisors DJ Totland and Christopher Meyer have joined LPL Financial’s existing firm, Harbor Lights Financial Group, to independently launch Lighthouse Private Wealth. The advisors joined LPL Financial from RBC Wealth Management, where they oversaw about $1.1B in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets. Harbor Lighs Financial Group’s managing partner Rob Tendler, will provide support to Lighthouse Private Wealth. Red Bank, NJ-based Lighthouse Private Wealth joined LPL Financial because they were seeking“improved technology and autonomy,” the firm said.
- Wealth management executive Jeff Papa has been named U.S. head of distribution for wealth, premier, and private banking at HSBC. In the newly created role, Papa will lead the bank’s sales teams and drive client growth through the wealth management division, including premier and private banking. Papa will be reporting directly to HSBC’s U.S. head of international wealth Racquel Oden. Prior to joining HSBC, Papa served as managing director and regional director of the consumer bank at JP Morgan’s Manhattan office.
- TotalEnergies, an energy and petroleum company, has made an agreement with insurance vehicles and accounts managed by KKR, an investment firm, for the sale of 50% of a 1.4 GW solar portfolio, located in North America. The transaction covers six utility-scale solar assets with a combined capacity of 1.3 gigawatts, and 41 distributed generation assets totaling 140 megawatts. The portfolio is valued at an enterprise value of $1.25B and after the closing of the deal, TotalEnergies will receive a total of $950M. TotalEnergies will maintain a 50% stake in the assets and continue to control them after the closing of this transaction.
- Private Advisor Group has added Capital Group, Franklin Templeton, and Goldman Sachs to its investment management platform, named WealthSuite. The platform offers financial advisors “enhanced” portfolio options for clients. The investment models were launched on October 1 on Private Advisor Group’s platform.
- Aquarian Holdings, an insurance and asset management solutions provider, has launched the Aquarian Real Estate Partners, which is aimed at “enhancing” the company’s real estate investments. Aquarian Real Estate Partners will invest in commercial real estate and real estate-related investments across asset types, geographies, and various tiers of the capital structure. The investment arm will provide equity and debt financing to borrowers for the construction, acquisition, and refinancing of commercial real estate. The division will be led by partner and head of AREP Kevin Holmes. Prior to joining Aquarian, Holmes was a founding partner at Iviron Capital Partners and was a VP at Athos Capital Partners and 54 Madison Capital.
- RIA Moneta Group Investment Advisors has added a FA team of three advisors from Aveo Capital Partners. The Williams team, which is led by lead partner Chad Williams and financial advisors Zach Heath and Brian Eller, oversees about $262M in client assets. The trio will move into Moneta’s new Denver Tech Center office once the construction has been completed. The team joined Moneta because they wanted to “maintain their independence while they leverage greater support to help them grow.”
- Starwood Property Trust, a REIT, will privately offer $500M of unsecured senior notes due 2031. The company plans to use proceeds from the offering to finance or refinance green and social projects. Other proceeds that were applied to previous projects may be used to repay debt related to those projects. Remaining funds may be used for general corporate purposes, including repaying outstanding debt.
- Sanctuary Wealth has added Bloomington, MN-based Cedar Cove Wealth Partners. The firm has been affiliated with Thrivent Advisor Network for the past five years and is led by founding partners and wealth advisors Jennifer Cords, Ben Johnson, and Chris Sipe. Keith Sapp has joined Cedar Cove as a partner and CIO. Cedar Cove marks Sanctuary Wealth’s 18th acquisition for the year and brings the firm’s total assets to over $55B.
- Horizon Utah Federal Credit Union has partnered with InvestiFi, a digital investment solutions provider, to expand financial services for its clients. HCU’s client base will gain access to investing tools directly through the firm’s existing online and mobile banking platforms. Additionally, clients will gain access to stocks and ETFs, financial education, and digital assets tools.
- Wealth.com, an estate planning platform, has partnered with Osaic Wealth to offer financial advisors estate planning technology that can be used to invite their clients to complete estate-related documentation online. Osaic has also secured an “exclusive license” with Wealth.com’s Family Office Suite, which is a platform that provides designed to provide personalized support for ultra-high-net-worth clients.
- RIA Oak Harvest Financial Group has surpassed $1B in total assets under management. Houston-based Oak Harvest Financial Group provides “comprehensive” retirement planning, investment, and tax planning services to high-net-worth clients.
- Mission Wealth Management has merged with Boulder, CO-based Diversified Asset Management, a wealth management firm. Diversified Asset Management was founded by Robert Pyle and provides financial planning, tax-efficient strategies, and wealth transfer solutions to high-net-worth business owners, professionals, retirees, and families. Pyle joins Mission Wealth Management as its 56th equity partner. Pyle is also joined by his son, Matthew Pyle, who will serve as a wealth advisor associate. This deal marks Mission Wealth’s fifth merger for the year. Advice Dynamics Partners served as Diversified Asset Management’s M&A advisor, and Katz Teller served as legal counsel.
- Acrisure, a fintech platform, has acquired Heartland Payroll Solutions and Human Capital Management from Global Payments in a deal worth $1.1B. The transaction will bring Heartland Payroll’s clients to Acrisure and expand Heartland’s current payroll and HCM capabilities. In part of the deal, Heartland Payroll’s president Vince Lombardo has joined Acrisure and will lead the AurisSMPayroll and HCM division.
- Waterlily, a healthtech firm, has launched its AI-powered “Quote-and-Apply” platform. The platform provides individuals or couples with “personalized” insurance data based on a consumer’s medical information. The platform allows consumers to compare insurance policies and apply for coverage. Waterlily, a fintech platform, founded by Lily Vittayarukskul and Evan Ehrenberg, uses its AI modeling software to analyze long-term care needs and costs for consumers.
- LPL Financial has added Ballston, NY-based Tennant Financial to its broker-dealer and registered investment advisor platform. Tennant Financial joined LPL Financial from Northwestern Mutual, where they oversaw about $1.3B in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets. The team, founded in 2000, is led by wealth advisor Steven Tennant, director of advanced financial planning Jeremy Berry, and director of investments and operations Ryan Wade, and provides wealth management, retirement planning, investment management, tax planning, and charitable giving to high-net-worth families, corporate executives, business owners, and medical professionals.
- Pendra Group, a private equity-based advisory firm, has launched. Financial advisors affiliated with Pendra help investors and private equity-backed management teams. Pendraprovides advisors with services including management, construction, exit planning, and investments. The firm was founded by Danie Levy, Chris Nichols, Chris Trendler, and Mary Winn Miller.
- New York City-based Rose Valley Capital, a real estate management firm, has launched Rose Valley Alliance, its investment vehicle, which is designed to provide access to various “off-market” real estate opportunities to investors.
- Zenzic Capital, a real estate credit and special situations investment firm, has launched the Zenzic Real Estate Credit Opportunities Fund. The opportunistic credit evergreen Fund is anchored by funds backed by GCM Grosvenor, an alternative asset management solutions provider. The Fund will target investments comprising a mix of short-duration high-yield credits, medium-term positions, and select special situation opportunities. ZCAP LLP served as the investment adviser to the Zenzic Real Estate Credit Opportunities Fund, which is part of the Zenzic Capital group of companies.
- Avenue Capital Group, an asset management firm, has raised over $1B in capital in the final round for Avenue Sports Fund. The funding round was led by Avenue Capital’s CEO andchairman Marc Lasry. The Avenue Sports Fund, launched in November 2023, focuses on investment opportunities providing debt and equity capital to sports teams, leagues, and sports-adjacent businesses across emerging leagues and women’s sports.
- Deerpath Capital Management, a private credit manager, has closed its 16th collateralized loan obligation, dubbed Deerpath CLO 2025-1, which is valued at $653.50M and brings the firm’s total CLO assets under management to approximately $3.9B. This CLO marks Deerpath’s third transaction of the year, which reset Deerpath CLO 2023-1 and Deerpath CLO 2021-2. This brings the firm’s total issuance to over $1.6B. As part of this transaction, Deerpath has redeemed its 2020-1 transaction, a $403M transaction that was reset in 2023. For this transaction, GreensLedge Capital Markets LLC served as the lead placement agent.
- Bite Investments, a fintech platform, has secured $25M in growth capital from NewSpring Growth. The funding will go towards Bite Investments’ goal to streamline access to its alternative investments and continue to scale its technology platform, expand its team, and provide “enhanced” services for asset managers and investors. Bite Investments was advised by Piper Sandler as financial advisor and Paul Hastings as its legal counsel. NewSpring was advised by Baker Tilly on financial details, KPMG on tax, and Cozen O’Connor for legal counsel.
- Cerebras Systems, an artificial intelligence infrastructure firm, has raised $1.1B in its latest funding round for its Series G fund led by Fidelity Management & Research Company and Atreides Management. The round has boosted Cerebras Systems’ post-money valuation to $8.1B. The round included participation from Tiger Global, Valor Equity Partners, and 1789 Capital, and existing investors Altimeter, Alpha Wave, and Benchmark. Cerebras will use the funds to expand its technology portfolio with continued inventions in AI design, packaging, system design, and AI-powered supercomputers. Cerebras will also use the funds to expand its U.S. manufacturing capabilities and its U.S. data center efforts. Citigroup and Barclays Capital were joint placement agents for the deal.
- Connecticut-based Gemspring Capital Management, a private equity firm, has raised $1.1B in total capital for its second Growth Solutions Fund, reaching its hard cap after roughly three months. Growth Solutions Fund follows the firm’s first fund, named GGS I, which launched in 2022 and raised $400M in capital. The funding will continue going towards Gemspring’s growth capital for middle-market businesses. Sidley Austin LLP served as legal counsel on the fund.
- Ridgemont Equity Partners, a private equity firm, has raised $3.9B in capital in the final round for its Ridgemont Equity Partners V Fund, surpassing its targeted goal of $2.75B. The Fund will continue to expand on Ridgemont’s investment towards tech-enabled service companies and distributors across business services, healthcare, and industrials. The fund gained commitments from over 100 prominent global institutions, including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, and family offices. Ridgemont was supported by Evercore Private Funds Group, which served as the exclusive global placement agent, and Kirkland & Ellis served as fund counsel. This funding round brings Ridgemont Equity Partners’ total assets under management to more than $11B.
