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2026 Connect Money Next Generation Wealth Management Awards
Winners
- Cristina Wiebelt-Smith: Redefining Wealth Advice Through Education, Community Impact
- Jack Reifsnider: Linking Capital, Community, and Client Outcomes
- Ximena Silva-Avila: Pairing Values-Based Planning with Community Advocacy
- Scott Frazin: Blending Personal Engagement with Next Gen Advisory Approach
- Ken Vendley: Driving Growth Through Mentorship and Holistic Planning
- Michael Bueti: Scaling Growth, Innovation and Next Gen Client Engagement
- Abhishek Vakil: Aligning Personal Performance with Firmwide Growth
- John B. Petrick: Advancing Next Gen RIA Framework
- Alan Simeon: Transformation Through Growth, Innovation and Mentorship
- Julian Locke: Expanding Industry Access Through Mentorship
- Dana Hall: Redefining Wealth Creation Through Community Equity Innovation
- Alex Pape: Bringing AI, Unified Portfolios to the Advisor Desktop
- Nicholas Petrelli: Powering Growth Through Client Acquisition and Team Leadership
- Kelly Ann Winget: Challenges PE Norms With Access and Innovation
- Ashton Lawrence: Building $200M Practice Around Trust, Planning and Education
- Jacob Gurock: From Messaging to Mentorship
- Robert Howland: Modernizing a Legacy Firm While Deepening Client-Centered Advice
- Mamadou-Abou Sarr: Building $1.4B Quant Platform With High-Touch Innovation
- Collin Lyon: Rewiring Tech, Talent, and Team-Based Planning
- Lucas Mijares: Putting Values at the Center of Wealth Planning
- Danielle White: Building a One-Stop Operations Platform for Independent Advisors
- Susy Thomas: Bringing Athlete’s Discipline to Client-Centered Planning
- Rebecca Trethewey: Strengthening Platform With Retirement, Benefits Expertise
- Gautam Muthusamy: Accelerating Growth Through Personalized Advisory and Strategic Leadership
- Joseph Spina: Bridging Institutional Research and Private Wealth Advice
- Lowell Lyon: Prioritizing Simplicity in Wealth Management
- Greg Giardino: Turning Personal Experience Into Client-Focused Advisory Approach
- Hannah Forney: Guiding Families and Athletes Through Wealth Decisions
- Zach Schear: Fueling Record Growth and Transformation
- Megan Higgins: Driving Operational Innovation, Next Gen Talent Development
Nicholas Petrelli: Powering Growth Through Client Acquisition and Team Leadership
Top-performing partner scales Baltimore practice and multi-billion referral platform
Within Cerity Partners, Nicholas Petrelli, Partner, is widely regarded as a future firm leader, combining front-line client work with firmwide strategic responsibilities. He works closely with the C-suite—especially the Chief Client Officer—to help lead and grow the custodial referral program, a multi-billion-dollar product line that has become a key engine of new business. Consistently ranked among the top 10 partners in new client acquisition by revenue, he pairs strong origination with hands-on stewardship of multi-generational families.
Day to day, Nick leads a five-person team in the Baltimore office that regularly tops internal metrics, including net clients gained, run-rate revenue growth, referrals, and close rates. He sets the tone by mentoring younger colleagues, modeling proactive, professional wealth management, and helping institutionalize best practices that are now reflected across the broader practice.
Nick’s impact extends into the professional and nonprofit community. He is an active member of the Baltimore Estate Planning Council, collaborating with attorneys, CPAs, and other specialists to promote coordinated, interdisciplinary estate planning. He also serves on the board of Bakhita Kids, a nonprofit serving children living in poverty and those who are victims of human trafficking in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland.
A former client service professional who rose to partner, Nick embodies the next generation of holistic advisors. He holds both the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER and Certified Private Wealth Advisor designations and brings a broad toolkit to client engagements, including alternative investments such as private debt, private equity, specialized hedging strategies, and opportunity zones, alongside multigenerational estate, trust, and business advisory work. He regularly leverages the firm’s outsourced CIO, family office, and executive counseling capabilities to deliver institutional-caliber solutions to families.
Inside Cerity, Nick mentors senior principals through the partner-promotion process, facilitates partner offsite breakout sessions, and has helped shape firmwide business development training through multiple pilot programs—while remaining a top 10 producer in new business development month after month.