People & Company News, Week of February 20, 2026
- Financial advisors Chip Hoke and Robert Dunkley have joined Janney Montgomery Scott. Hoke has joined Janney’s Lancaster, Pennsylvania office from RBC Wealth Management, where he served as a financial advisor and branch director and managed over $220M in client assets. He joined Janney’s Lancaster Wealth Group. Dunkley has joined Janney’s Osterville, Massachusetts office from Ameriprise Financial, where he managed about $50M in client assets.
- Beverly Shealy has been named head of Waterfall Solutions at Gen II Fund Services, a private capital fund administrator. Shealy will lead Gen II’s waterfall capabilities and will expand the Sensr Solutions suite of products. Recently, Gen II Fund Services has joined forces with S7 Fund Ops, a waterfall solutions provider for private capital funds.
- Financial advisor Jason Mochi has joined LPL Financial’s broker-dealer and registered investment advisor platform from Morgan Stanley, where he oversaw $275M in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets. Mochi has joined LPL Financial with Santa Barbara, CA-based Shoreline Private Wealth Management, along with client relationship manager Janet Waller. Mochi joined LPL because of its “client-first” service model, scale, and platform.
- Vincent Gimarelli has been tapped as the first chief development officer at RIA Sowell Management. Gimarelli will be responsible for leading Sowell’s growth strategy across business development, organic advisor recruiting, investment management growth and distribution, and strategic relationship management. Additionally, Gimarelli will contribute to the firm’s M&A initiatives and will report to CEO Daryl Seaton, and will be working closely with founder and chief strategy officer Bill Sowell. Gimarelli will also collaborate with managing director of investment management Scott Dooley
,to advance the Sowell TAMP and investment management platform. Prior to joining Sowell, Gimarelli served as director of institutional sales and consulting at AssetMark.
- New Jersey-based Private Advisor Group has made several hires to boost its growth initiatives. Daniel Johnson has joined as director of advisor strategy, focusing on long-term planning, business insights, and solutions. Greg Gavin has joined as director of growth and engagement and will contribute to developing advisor engagement and growth initiatives, including practice management support and community programming. Jamie Kulik has been tapped as chief of staff and sales enablement and will support enterprise-wide execution, cross-functional alignment, and sales. Lastly, Kevin Bohrer has joined as director of corporate finance, where he will oversee financial planning, analysis, and reporting initiatives.
- Pantheon, a private markets investor, has promoted four new partners within its investment and client solutions team. Scott Hong was promoted to partner in Pantheon’s client solutions team. Hong, who is based in Korea, is head of South Korea and leads Pantheon’s client engagement in the region, and joined Pantheon in 2021. Victor Mayer was promoted to partner in Pantheon’s client solutions team, where he leads Pantheon’s international private wealth team. Mayer, who is based in Singapore, joined Pantheon in 2021. Kunal Sood was promoted to partner in Pantheon’s Asia investment team. Sood is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing investment opportunities across the Asia Pacific region. Kunal, who is based in Singapore, joined Pantheon in 2013. Ana Zarruk was promoted to partner in Pantheon’s client solutions team. Zarruk, who is based in Bogota, leads Pantheon’s client development and relations in Latin America and joined Pantheon in 2012.
- Shannon Larson has been tapped as president of AE Wealth Management. Larson will be responsible for scaling the firm’s advisory platform and assisting financial advisors in transitioning from product-focused models to full wealth management practices. Larson succeeds Chris Radford, who stepped away from the position last summer. Before joining AE Wealth Management, Larson was previously affiliated with Osaic Wealth, where she held multiple senior positions. Larson also held leadership roles at Eaton Vance, Cetera Financial Group, LPL Financial, and Fisher Investments.
- Emily Johnson Moghadam and David Arwady have been named head of lease administration and compliance and head of project management, respectively, for Lincoln Property Company, a real estate firm. Moghadam and Arwady have joined Lincoln’s Corporate Advisory & Solutions platform. Moghadam, who joined Lincoln in 2008, will continue to lead audits, documentation, training, and governance. In her new role, Moghadam will lead the team while advancing policies and procedures. Arwady will focus on “elevating” standards, “driving” consistency, and supporting growth across all markets. Prior to joining Lincoln, Arwady served as senior managing director at CBRE.
- RIA Savvy Advisors has added Denver-based Colorado Wealth Group, which oversees about $300M in assets under management. Colorado Wealth Group, which was founded in 2016 by Steven Harp and Jacob Ray, offers multigenerational wealth management, financial planning, investment management, retirement planning, estate planning, and insurance services. Under the partnership, Colorado Wealth Group’s eight-person team will retain its book of business while gaining access to Savvy’s infrastructure, AI-enabled tools, operational support, and portfolio management resources.
- AllianceBernstein has partnered with SimCorp, a financial technology company, to serve as the firm’s core investment technology partner. AB’s implementation of SimCorp One will become part of its infrastructure, which will enable AB’s investment teams to gain access to data and proprietary tools for trading.
- MindBridge, a financial intelligence platform, has partnered with Genpact, a technology solutions provider. Through the partnership, Genpact customers will gain access to MindBridge’s AI capabilities, which will be integrated into Genpact’s Enterprise Risk Consulting platform. Genpact will also leverage MindBridge’s financial intelligence platform to boost its ability to identify risks, surface anomalies, and data-driven solutions.
- Bison Wealth, a boutique wealth management firm, has launched Bison Managed 401k, through PowerMy401k.com, a new service that helps optimize 401k returns. Through Bison Managed 401k, investors will be able to utilize resources and tools to access retirement planning capabilities. Bison Wealth, which is owned by Bison Holdings, manages about $3B in combined assets under management and advisement.
- New York-based GenNx360 Capital Partners, a private equity firm, has made an investment in Gray, LA-based NVI, an energy program management services provider. NVI’s capabilities include conventional and advanced radiography, direct assessment, erosion detection, and weld testing. GenNx360’s NVI team includes managing partner Monty Yort, principal Pratik Rajeevan, VP of operations Amit Phatak, and associate Jon Langenfeld.
- Citizens Financial Group has acquired Richmond, VA-based Matrix Capital Markets Group, an advisory firm in the downstream energy and convenience retail sector. The firm also provides services related to the automotive aftermarket and the outdoor recreation and marine sectors. Matrix Capital Markets Group, founded in 1988, also has a second office in Baltimore, Maryland, and assists convenience retailers, wholesale fuel distributors, propane and heating oil distributors, and lubricant distributors. The transaction will be funded with cash, and Citizens’ wholly-owned subsidiary, Citizens JMP Securities, will purchase all the assets of Matrix. Following the acquisition, which is set to close in the first quarter of this year, Matrix will operate as a division of CJMPS.
- Simplicity Group Holdings, a financial products distribution firm, has acquired Birmingham, AL-based LeSourd Partners, a financial services firm. The firm offers technology-related services, marketing, and “personalized” resources. As part of the acquisition, LeSourd will gain access to Simplicity’s wealth management, platform offerings, and marketing services. Additionally, LeSourd’s founder Jake LeSourd, president Diane Covin, and partner Kimberly Roberts have joined Simplicity as partners.
- Silicon Valley-based Seligman Investments, a technology investor, has launched Seligman Ventures, a new venture capital arm. The division is designed to invest in early-stage to pre-IPO technology companies in the AI and cloud space, cybersecurity, and data-center hardware verticals. Seligman Ventures is led by managing partner Umesh Padval. He is joined by managing partner Ashish Kakran and CFO and operating partner Eddie Ackerman. Seligman, part of Columbia Threadneedle Investments’ alternatives business, manages $30B of public and private market technology and healthcare investments across mutual funds, hedge funds, and separately managed accounts.
- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an insurance brokerage and risk management firm, has acquired Washington, PA-based B&W Insurance Agency. B&W Insurance Agency provides personal lines and commercial brokerage services to clients across Southwest Pennsylvania. Following the acquisition, founders Paul Barzd III and Jim Cote, and their team, will remain in their current location under Jen Tadin, head of Gallagher Select’s U.S. division.
- American Beacon Partners, an asset management platform, has partnered with Cordillera Investment Partners, an investment management firm. Cordillera Investment Partners, founded in 2014, manages about $1.8B and focuses on non-correlated, private investments. Cordillera’s investment portfolio includes sports, spirits aging, boat marinas, wireless spectrum licenses, and carbon markets. Through the partnership, American Beacon will leverage its platform to incorporate Cordillera’s private investments into its wealth channel.
- Avantos, an artificial intelligence-native operating system, has raised $25M in the closing round for its Series A funding round. The round was led by software investment firm Bessemer Venture Partners and gained new investors, including The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, SEI, and Vanguard. This capital comes after it raised $10M in its seed round, which closed in September 2024 and was led by E14 Fund. Avantos aims to use the capital to support investment in its platform, including the expansion of AI agents and building relationships with custodians, CRMs, portfolio management tools, underwriting systems, and policy administration platforms.
- Greenwich, CT-based Union Capital Associates, a private equity firm, has raised $450M in the closing round for its fourth private equity fund, Union Capital Equity Partners IV. The fund will continue providing capital to U.S. businesses within food manufacturing and business services.
- Alva Energy, a nuclear energy company, has launched with $33M in funding, led by Playground Global. Investors from the company’s initial funding round include Gigascale Capital, Safar Partners, Collaborative Fund, Activate Global, and ICONIQ Capital’s founder Michael Anders. Additional investors include Segra Capital, NGP, Mercator Partners, and Alumni Ventures, as well as returning investors 8VC, Logos, Simon Holmes à Court, and environmental activist Isabelle Boemeke. Alva will be working directly with large-scale power consumers, including hyperscalers and utilities to finance its nuclear plant redevelopments. The funding will enable Alva to “advance multiple projects, scale its engineering teams, and secure regulatory pre-approvals” for uprate methods from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
- Xerox Holdings Corporation has launched a new joint venture between Xerox and TPG, an alternative asset management firm. The joint venture is an intellectual property holding and licensing entity that is designed to manage and monetize Xerox IP assets. The JV has raised $450M in financing, which was led by TPG Credit. The capital was distributed to Xerox and will be used for liquidity, accelerating Xerox’s reinvention, which includes the Lexmark integration.
- Boston-based HarbourVest Partners, a private markets investment firm, has raised $1.1B in the closing round for its inaugural Private Equity Continuation Solutions Fund. The fund, which targets “high-performing sponsor-backed” companies across North America and Europe, is designed to provide capital solutions to general partners seeking to retain exposure to assets while facilitating liquidity for limited partners. The strategy also focuses on single-asset continuation transactions, which enable partners to extend ownership of portfolio companies while offering liquidity options to existing investors.
- Jump, an AI-powered wealth tech platform, has raised $80M for its Series B funding round, which was led by Insight Partners. The capital boosts Jumps’ total capital to $105M, following its $20M capital raise from its Series A funding round, which was led by Battery Ventures. Jump aims to use the new capital to accelerate the expansion of its “intelligence and action layer,” as the company plans to reduce operational challenges, support “organic” growth, and improve its client experience.
