&Partners crosses 100-practice milestone with Mannen Financial Group

Drawing scores of breakaways with $50 billion in prehire assets, &Partners, the hybrid RIA cofounded by former Wells Fargo leaders has officially hit the ambitious target set at its inception two years ago.

The Nashville- and St. Louis-based hybrid broker-dealer and RIA welcomed its 100th advisory practice, Mannen Financial Group, cementing its position among the fastest-growing wealth management organizations across the country.

The addition of the St. Louis-based team brings &Partners’ network to approximately $50 billion in prehire assets and $350 million in annual revenue, the firm said in a statement.

Founded in 2023 by former Wells Fargo executives David Kowach, John Alexander, and Kristi Mitchem, &Partners set out to build a firm where advisors are owners, not just employees — a model that has helped the company attract a broad range of practices in less than two years.

“Welcoming the Mannen Financial Group as our 100th practice is more than just a number. It confirms that advisors are embracing our ownership model and our mission to change financial lives for the better,” said Kowach, CEO and cofounder of &Partners.

The 100-partner milestone fulfills a target of hiring 100 “top-performing advisor partner teams” that the firm declared in a presentation announcing its launch.

The firm’s structure is notable for its broad distribution of equity among advisors and employees. Like Mercer Advisors, Homrich Berg, and numerous other players in the RIA space today, advisors who join &Partners receive an ownership stake, aligning their interests with those of clients and the home office.

This approach, executives say, has been a key driver of the firm’s rapid growth. &Partners has also made strides in attracting women advisors: 30% of its practices were founded by a woman, and 40% include at least one woman advisor, figures that outpace industry averages.

Elizabeth Mannen Berges, founder of Mannen Financial Group — whose 30-year BrokerCheck record includes the past 17 years affiliated with Wells Fargo — said the decision to join &Partners was based on shared values.

“We chose &Partners because their philosophy matches ours: integrity, professionalism, and a relentless focus on the client. The opportunity to be both an advisor and an owner makes this partnership especially meaningful,” Berges said.

Since its launch, &Partners has recruited heavily from major firms such as Wells Fargo, Edward Jones, UBS, and Merrill Lynch.

In a June interview with InvestmentNews, Alexander noted that the firm’s equity cap is set at 40 million shares, with plans to recruit up to 150 advisor teams and reach $120 billion in assets under management by 2028.

“As an advisor when you join us, you get a significant piece of equity of the firm, and we made a decision that we were going to cap the amount of equity that we were going to issue. So there’s a scarcity factor that comes into play too,” Alexander said.

&Partners’ model emphasizes operational support, flexible technology, and a collaborative peer network. The firm intends to limit its size to preserve a culture of empowerment and avoid the bureaucracy that can come with scale. “We are building a firm designed to meet advisors and clients where they are, without compromise,” said Mitchem. She added that the goal is to ensure advisors can do what’s right for clients “without unnecessary barriers.”

Reprinted with permission.