People and Company News, Week of October 23, 2026
- Andrew Peddar has been tapped as COO for Masttro, a wealth operating system. Peddar will oversee the company’s Data Operations and Client Experience teams, onboarding and client experience functions. He will report to Masttro’s CEO Jay McNamara and will work closely with Masttro’s team in New York. Prior to joining Masttro, Peddar most recently served as chief revenue officer at Next Matter, an AI and data orchestration platform serving asset and wealth managers.
- Jasper Mason and Warren Wise have joined Dykema, a law firm, as Senior Counsel. Mason joins Dykema’s Corporate Finance Practice Group and will work closely with the firm’s Oil & Gas team, while Wise joins the firm’s Product Liability and Class Action Litigation practice group. Mason and Warren are based in the firm’s office in Houston.
- Kristie Edling-Day has been tapped as CIO at SEI. Edling-Day will lead the firm’s enterprise technology and product strategy and operations, including digital transformation, platform modernization, and cybersecurity governance. Edling-Day will be reporting to SEI’s CEO Ryan Hicke. Prior to joining SEI, Edling-Day most recently served as EVP and CIO for Advisor Technology and Enterprise Production Operations at LPL Financial.
- Chris Best has joined Madison Capital Group, a real estate investment and development firm, as a managing director, to lead its expansion into the RIA and family office channels. Best will oversee capital raising initiatives, distribution strategy and team development. Prior to joining Madison, Best served as director at Core Spaces.
- Matthew Tripp has been appointed senior client portfolio manager at American Beacon Partners for ARK Invest. Tripp will support client relationships and expand distribution of ARK’s strategies across U.S. wealth management. Tripp will report to Jay Schilling, head of wealth and institutional sales. Prior to joining American Beacon Partners, Tripp most recently served as an investment product consultant at Envestnet PMC. He also held senior roles at Aegon Asset Management and Touchstone Investments.
- Schwab Asset Management has launched the Schwab International Bond ETF, a low-cost ETF, which is designed to provide investors with access to the international bond market. SCIN offers exposure to a mix of international investment-grade bonds, including sovereign, quasi-government, corporate, securitized, and collateralized securities across more than 40 countries. The fund’s largest country exposures are expected to be France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy.
- Janney Montgomery Scott has opened a new office in Houston and added four financial advisors. The new office includes Edwards Fitzpatrick Group, which is led by Sean Fitzpatrick, James “Jim” Edwards, Lance Murphy, and Christin Simon. The team is supported by Senior Registered Private Client Associate Allison Spinelli. The advisors were previously affiliated with Raymond James, where they collectively managed about $3.5B in client assets.
- Betterment has rolled out mega backdoor Roth capabilities for its solo 401(k) offering, which maximizes retirement savings potential for eligible self-employed investors. The new capability is available to customers investing directly with Betterment and to financial advisors offering solo 401(k)s to their clients through Betterment Advisor Solutions. Betterment provides the associated tax forms. Additionally, contributions, conversions, and 1099-R reporting are supported within the platform.
- Zocks, an AI platform, has partnered with LPL Financial to make its platform available to LPL’s advisor network. LPL advisors are now able to automate a broad range of administrative and operational processes with Zocks. Through the partnership, advisors will be able to gain access to Zocks’ compliance capabilities.
- Active asset manager Lord Abbett today debuted a new brand to bolster its capabilities across public and private markets and introduce more ways for clients to access its investment offerings. Lord Abbett manages about $258B in assets under management as of September 30.
- Shelton Capital Management has acquired the assets of Boston-based RIA Essex Investment Management. The acquisition will expand Shelton’s investment capabilities, with Essex’s active portfolio management team, which currently serves institutional, family office, and high-net-worth clients. Essex also has an office in Evanston, Illinois. Essex, founded in 1976, manages over $725M in assets. Denver-based Shelton Capital Management manages more than $8B in assets across fixed income portfolios, U.S. equity and international equity strategies, ESG solutions, and equity income products, as of September 30. Shelton has additional offices in San Francisco, Memphis, and St. Louis.
- Gen II Fund Services, a private equity fund administrator, has rolled out its latest module, Funded Partner Transfers, available within its digital subscription platform. The Partner Transfer Module leverages Funded’s platform and is part of Gen II’s Sensr Solutions suite. Funded Partner Transfers will be available in November for existing and new Funded clients.
- Tampa, FL-based Aline Accounting Partners has partnered with Fieldguide, an AI-backed advisory and audit provider, to enable access to Fieldguide’s platform across its accounting and advisory firms. Through the partnership, Fieldguide’s agentic platform embeds AI agents into audit and advisory workflows. The rollout spans the Financial Audit practice of AAPG, Aline’s CPA firm.
- Modera Wealth Management has launched Mira, a proprietary agentic AI platform designed to unify data, automate workflows, and support personalized financial planning and investment services. Mira integrates information from Modera’s wealth technology and document management systems. The firm expects the platform to reduce manual tasks, increase advisors’ client-facing time, and help integrate acquired practices. OnTrade helps power Mira’s AI capabilities.
- EnCap Investments, an energy-focused private equity firm, has raised $3.5B in the closing for its EnCap Minerals Continuation Vehicle, which includes EnCap Minerals and Rock River Minerals. The funding will go towards enabling EnCap and its partners to continue participating in the growth and cash flow of Permian Basin mineral assets. The capital, which is managed by EnCap, is anchored by funds affiliated with Melange Capital Partners.
- Ara Partners has raised $2.5B in capital for the closing of its debut energy investment fund. Ara Energy Fund I secured $1.8B in commitments and over $700M in associated co-investment capital. The fund reached its hard cap about 10 months after its initial closing in December. The fund’s renewable fuels portfolio includes U.S. ethanol production facilities with combined annual capacity of about 400M gallons.
- FFL Partners, a growth-focused private equity firm, has closed its sixth flagship fund with over $1.35B in commitments, marking a 50% increase over its predecessor. FFL Capital Partners VI will invest $50M to $200M in middle-market health care and tech-enabled services companies, taking control or significant minority stakes. The fund has already invested in Janus RX, Pioneer HOA, Waylin Partners and Ally Technical. FFL has more than $7B in capital commitments.