People & Company News, Week of July 31, 2026
- Kevin Luebbers has been tapped as head of Distribution for The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Luebbers will be responsible for leading the firm’s sales and distribution strategy for its individual markets division. Additionally, Luebbers will help integrate and scale Guardian’s distribution model to accelerate growth and will play a key role in expanding Guardian’s wealth management and retirement solutions business. He will be reporting to Mike Perry, Guardian’s head of Client Solutions and Wealth Management. Prior to joining Guardian, Luebbers most recently served as head of Sales at Jackson National Life.
- Cory Boggs has been named managing director and wealth advisor of Cresset Asset Management’s Santa Barbara office. Prior to joining Cresset, Boggs served as a wealth manager at Manchester Capital Management, where he managed $600M in client assets.
- Matthew Beverly has been named head of Asset Management at The Inland Real Estate Group. Beverly will lead Inland’s asset management initiatives, overseeing strategies designed to enhance portfolio performance and support the firm’s investment platforms. Before joining The Inland Real Estate Group, Beverly most recently served as SVP of Transformco Properties.
- Michael Kim, CEO and president of AssetMark, has been appointed as Credent Wealth Management’s newest independent board member. Kim joins current board members David Hefty, Stacy Hefty, Dennis Kehoe, and Credent’s strategic investor, Crestline Management LP.
- Lazard Asset Management has appointed Chris Bricker and Theodore Enders as head of Corporate Development and head of Product, respectively. Bricker will lead the firm’s corporate development and strategic growth agenda, with a focus on building the firm’s investment strengths and broadening its client offering. He will report to CEO Chris Hogbin. Prior to joining LAM, Bricker most recently served as head of Corporate Development and a member of the Operating Committee at AllianceBernstein. Enders will lead LAM’s global product strategy, with responsibility for shaping the firm’s product platform across investment strategies, vehicles, client channels, and markets. He will report to COO Rosalie Berman. Prior to joining LAM, Enders most recently served as head of CIO Portfolio Strategy at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
- Webull, a digital brokerage investment platform, has launched its Managed Bond Portfolios, an offering from Webull Advisors that provides investors with access to managed portfolios of individual bonds. Managed Bond Portfolios combine direct bond ownership with professional portfolio management, allowing investors to generate income, diversification, and capital preservation. The offering is currently available exclusively to U.S.-based investors.
- Red Oak, a compliance platform, will be merging with MirrorWeb. Following the merger, chairman Romir Bosu will assume the role of CEO of the combined company. MirrorWeb will continue operating under its current name, and Red Oak’s CEO Dave Dutch, will support the combined businesses as an advisor.
- Nasdaq will be acquiring Dasseti, a due diligence software platform, which will further expand Nasdaq eVestment’s Institutional Network and AI-backed capabilities across public and private markets. Nasdaq’s relationship with Dasseti dates to 2022, through an early-stage investment made by Nasdaq Ventures. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Los Alamitos, CA-based Williams Tax & Financial Services has joined LPL Financial’s broker-dealer and RIA platform. Williams Tax & Financial Services is led by Steve Williams and includes team members Jobel Rentino and Kirk Hunte. The team was previously affiliated with Cetera Financial Group, where they managed about $340M in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets. The firm chose LPL for its scale, independence, and technology capabilities.
- InvestiFi has raised $20M for its latest funding round, which was led by Vibe Credit Union, with participation from BankTech Ventures, Idaho Central Credit Union, Navari, United Financial Credit Union, Coastal Credit Union, Mid Minnesota Credit Union, Truity Credit Union, and Southpoint Credit Union. This capital will go towards scaling InvestFi’s platform.
- Citco has launched the Citco Credit Portal, a platform that provides Citco’s Loan Agency and Servicing clients with access to loan data and credit products. Citco is currently piloting AI-enabled capabilities, including automated loan abstraction and transaction onboarding into its core loan servicing platform. Citco plans to expand the portal’s capabilities to support non-performing loans, restructurings, and recoveries.
- Utilities Employees Credit Union has partnered with InvestiFi. Through the partnership, UECU members will be able to invest in stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies from their checking accounts. Additionally, members will gain access to InvestiFi’s full suite of investment solutions, including professionally managed portfolios, financial education resources, and long-term financial planning. Pennsylvania-based Utilities Employees Credit Union serves over 64,000 members across the United States, and membership is available to employees of utility and energy companies.
- Kelly Park Capital, an alternative investment firm, has launched PRISM 2.0, a “5-in-1” onboarding experience, allowing advisors and their clients to complete a single subscription process across multiple alternative investments. PRISM 2.0 expands KPC Private Funds’ advisor technology platform with capabilities that are designed to improve operational efficiency. The platform plans to roll out the service to users this month.
- Omaha, NE-based Pearce Financial has joined Osaic Wealth from Integrity Alliance, where the advisory team oversaw about $143M in total client assets. Pearce Financial is led by father-and-son duo Kevin and Trent Pearce, alongside planning assistants Julie and Kara Pearce. The team provides wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals and families. Through Osaic, Pearce Financial will gain access to expanded financial planning resources and operational support.
- Conquest Planning and Shaping Wealth have partnered to incorporate Lydia, Shaping Wealth’s AI-powered behavioral intelligence agent, into Conquest’s platform. Conquest’s Strategic Advice Manager and Lydia will combine analytical solutions with behavioral coaching to help advisors deliver “human-centered” advice. Available as an add-on within Conquest’s platform, Lydia works alongside SAM Guide to answer questions and provide behavioral coaching directly in the advisor workflow. Advisors can use Lydia to prepare for meetings, draft follow-up communications, and receive coaching tailored to their firm’s products and client interactions.
- Third Wave Insurance, a retail insurance brokerage platform, will acquire five insurance and advisory agencies across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida. The acquisitions include Massad Olinde, an employee benefits and retirement advisory business; Acuity Group, an employee benefits brokerage firm; AWS, a commercial property and casualty agency; Spielmann & Associates, a wealth management and employee benefits advisory business; and Alexander Financial Group, a commercial property and casualty agency. Following the acquisitions, all five businesses will operate under the Palmer & Cay brand, Third Wave’s flagship retail business. Kelly Cox will lead the combined Gulf Coast platform and will report to Jack Cay.
- Arch, an AI-powered platform, has surpassed $500B in private market assets, with assets totaling $539B. Additionally, Arch has also revealed undisclosed investors from its $52M Series B funding, including MUFG Innovation Partners, Franklin Templeton, and Layer Global’s Anton Levy. The new investors join Arch’s existing Series B backers, Oak HC/FT, Menlo Ventures, Craft Ventures, and Quiet Capital.
- GTCR, a private equity firm, has raised $1.25B in the closing round for its inaugural Capital Solutions Fund. The capital will go towards investing in minority structured equity and debt opportunities, primarily in the middle market. Additionally, the fund will target companies within GTCR’s core industry domains, prioritizing businesses with recurring revenues and strong cash flow generation. GTCR currently manages roughly $45B in equity capital.
- Chicago-based Wind Point Partners, a private equity firm, has raised $3.2B in the closing round for Wind Point Partners XI. The oversubscribed fund received backing from the General Partner and members of the firm’s Executive Advisor Partner program. Fund XI received commitments from over 65 international institutions across 17 countries. In October, Wind Point will relocate its office to 333 Wolf Point Plaza in downtown Chicago.
- Vinyl Equity, a fintech infrastructure firm, has raised $20M for its Series A funding round, which is led by Jump Capital, with participation from MUFG Innovation Partners, Index Ventures, Spark Capital, Infinity Ventures, and Cambrian Fintech. Vinyl will use the capital to expand its engineering, compliance, and go-to-market teams, accelerating infrastructure development across capital markets and corporate transactions. Vinyl’s payment solutions offer compliant, secure distributions through an integrated workflow, enabling issuers to execute distributions.
- Partners Group, a private markets firm, has raised $5.5B in the closing of its infrastructure secondaries program. The program includes a closed-ended fund at $1.7B with investors across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. Partners Group has now raised over $20B across its infrastructure direct and infrastructure secondaries programs.
