Month: December 2025
RIA Edge Podcast: Culture and Partnership in RIA Growth with Arthur Ambarik

RIA Edge Podcast: Culture and Partnership in RIA Growth with Arthur Ambarik

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In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong speaks with Arthur Ambarik, CEO of Perigon Wealth Management, about the firm’s growth from a small Bay Area RIA into a multi-state, $12 billion firm with a partnership-driven model and large ambitions for the future.

Ambarik shares how cultural alignment shapes mergers, why specialization within firms is becoming a critical growth driver and how long-term thinking around talent and capital structure is redefining the future of wealth management firms.

Key takeaways:

  • How Ambarik has led Perigon’s journey toward becoming a national RIA, starting with $150 million in assets when he joined the firm, to a $12 billion enterprise today, supporting teams across 16 states
  • How intentional growth plans and a partnership-driven model have fueled the success
  • How Perigon’s first equity-based acquisition in 2020 became a springboard for the future
  • How he sees the role of the niche advisor driving future growth
  • How the influx of private equity has impacted firms and the larger industry
  • How Perigon sees technology as a tool for better segmenting client accounts profitably
  • How he envisions RIAs becoming the go-to career choice for young talent, with firms driving talent generation and mentorship

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Arthur Ambarik:

About Our Guest:

Arthur Ambarik, CFP, is Chief Executive Officer of Perigon Wealth Management. Under his leadership, Perigon has grown to over $10.2 billion* in assets under management and expanded its national footprint through strategic acquisitions and organic growth.

Named CEO of the Year in 2024 by WealthManagement.com, Arthur has played a pivotal role in Perigon’s rapid ascent in the industry. He was also recognized on the Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors 2024 list for California.

Thanks to his leadership, Perigon has earned national recognition, including:

  • Forbes America’s Top RIA Firms
  • Newsweek America’s Top Financial Advisory Firms
  • USA Today Best Financial Advisory Firms
  • Financial Advisor Magazine’s:
  • Fastest-Growing RIAs
  • Top RIAs
  • RIA Discretionary and Non-Discretionary AUM Rankings
  • San Francisco Business Times: Bay Area’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies

Arthur brings more than 20 years of experience to the role, with a career spanning advisory and operational leadership at Ameriprise and LPL. He is also a member of the Financial Advisor IQ Leadership Council.

Arthur holds a B.A. in Economics from Williams College.

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RIA Edge Podcast: Hightower’s Evolution and the Launch of Signature Wealth with CEO Larry Restieri

RIA Edge Podcast: Hightower’s Evolution and the Launch of Signature Wealth with CEO Larry Restieri

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How do leaders of wealth management firms balance advisor independence with the need for centralized efficiency? What does it take to build a platform that serves both traditional RIAs and advisors seeking a more integrated model?

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong interviews Larry Restieri, CEO of Hightower Advisors, about Hightower’s evolution from a wirehouse lift-out platform to a comprehensive wealth management firm managing over $300 billion in assets. 

He discusses the launch of Hightower Signature Wealth, a new direct-to-consumer offering designed to leverage the Hightower brand while maintaining support for independent advisory practices.

Key Points:

  • How Larry’s 25-year Goldman Sachs background shaped his approach to wealth management and his leadership at Hightower
  • Why Hightower Signature Wealth was launched as a firm within a firm, and how Restieri thinks the model strengthens both brand reach and advisor support
  • How he views the balance between advisor independence and an efficiently centralized middle- and back-office, while maintaining a personalized client experience
  • The influence of private equity, the long growth runway that remains for RIAs, and his thinking around future consolidation in the space
  • The challenge of an aging advisor population and the need to attract new and diverse talent into the profession

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong: 

Connect With Larry Restieri:

About Our Guest:

Larry Restieri is Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors at Hightower, a national wealth management firm that empowers financial advisors to deliver sophisticated investment and financial services to clients. He joined the firm in June 2025, bringing with him decades of experience in wealth management and a history of scaling businesses and driving growth.

Prior to Hightower, Larry was a partner at Goldman Sachs and served as CEO of its AYCO business, which specializes in workplace financial planning and private wealth advisory services. During his tenure, he led efforts to modernize AYCO’s operations, deepen client relationships, and accelerate business expansion.

Larry spent 25 years at Goldman Sachs in a variety of leadership roles across its wealth and asset management divisions. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2000, he practiced law at Finn Dixon & Herling LLP in Stamford, Connecticut, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York City.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University School of Law, where he served as an editor of the Fordham Law Review.

Outside of work, Larry is a lifelong musician and plays lead guitar in a classic rock cover band.

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