Alpha Capital Family Offices, a Denver-based RIA that provides outsourced family office services to approximately 100 families and a handful of companies on a flat fee basis, has recruited Tom Riley from Northern Trust to lead the construction and management of customized customer portfolios.
A chartered financial analyst, Riley's career in portfolio management included six years with First Data Corporation and five with Colorado State Bank & Trust before Northern Trust hired him in 2012. As a senior portfolio manager at Northern, he managed 500 million dollars for very rich clients.
Riley joins a team of five that includes a trio of multi-generational partner/advisors and two client service professionals.
Alpha Capital was originally created in 2015 by a breakaway Wells Fargo team that included Doug Campbell, Mark Ell and two of Campbell's sons. Five years later, the family office business was officially spun off from Alpha Capital Management Group, serving primarily corporate retirement plans. Doug Campbell was the only founding partner who went with him. He brought along Chris Baxter, a former IT professional with Voya Financial, and Tom Dameron, a former director of advanced strategies for Jackson.
Tom Riley
With approximately $140 million in client assets under management and almost $1 billion under advisement, ACFO actively seeks to add talent from the bank and network channels. The firm has engaged the services of Lumina Consulting, which facilitated Riley's recruitment.
“The world of private banking is changing,” said Campbell. “Increasingly, management is deciding how to take care of clients, not the portfolio managers or bankers who work with those people every day. You are seeing more use of models for client investment allocations rather than customization. They are even moving customers to call centers.
“We are very personalized with all our client relationships, taking into account all their assets, not just liquid assets,” he said. “That's why we're able to get someone with Tom's experience and that's why we're continuing to recruit in this private banking arena because we know there are other experienced and very talented professional experts out there looking to truly be that independent loyalist for their customers, not just an employee of a large banking institution.”
“It was really the idea to be at a firm that is client-focused and where I can have the opportunity to work with the people I want to work with and create portfolios that are truly personalized and build relationships that will they span a career and a lifetime,” added Riley.
For a fixed fixed fee, paid quarterly in arrears, ACFO offers asset management and financial planning, a suite of emerging financial technology tools; family governance and financial education services; business coordination and consultation; and planning around taxes, insurance, estate transfer and philanthropy—the firm coordinates with third-party providers on everything from tax preparation to mental health.
The plan is to grow primarily through referrals, expanded marketing efforts and the addition of talented investors, with an eye toward building a staff that reflects rising generations determined to inherit great wealth. Campbell said he has no interest in M&A and expects to double the number of advisers over the next four or five years through recruitment alone.
“We see the private banking world as a good opportunity right now and it's really in the customer's interest there,” he said. “This is being driven by customers who want a different experience. They want to see value in a different way. They want and need to see things tailored to them, not the way an institution wants to do it.
“I think that's where the demand and the potential are high,” he said. “I wish I was 25 again and someone was pulling me into this. It's exciting when you're actually sitting on the same side of the table as a customer.”
“This trend has been ongoing for years, especially as we've seen so much change happening at the largest private banks, often driven by a focus on profits and convenience,” noted Lumina founder Tim Kneen. “It's no surprise to see someone as capable as Tom making the move to independence.”