Tag: Advisor Capacity
RIA Edge Podcast: Building a Full-Service Financial Firm with Marty Bicknell

RIA Edge Podcast: Building a Full-Service Financial Firm with Marty Bicknell

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In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong sits down with Marty Bicknell, president and CEO of Mariner Wealth Advisors, to discuss how the firm has grown into one of the biggest RIAs in the country.

Marty shares how Mariner approaches acquisitions with a strong focus on culture, builds in-house capabilities across tax, trust and insurance services, and structures business development to support advisor growth. He also explains how artificial intelligence and operational systems may reshape advisor capacity, scalability and the future direction of wealth management firms.

Key takeaways:

  • What’s driving Mariner’s current acquisition strategy
  • How Bicknell thinks about bringing client services like tax, trust, insurance and estate planning into the Mariner ecosystem
  • Why Mariner bought a small boutique M&A firm
  • Why niche markets like dentists, athletes and first responders are a key part of Mariner’s future growth focus
  • How he sees AI tools impacting advisor capacity and the firm’s operations

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Marty Bicknell:

About Our Guest:

As the CEO and president of Mariner, Marty drives the strategic direction for the firm. As a recognized leader in wealth management, he devises innovative solutions to help meet the needs of our clients. He has extensive personal and professional experience with closely held family businesses and their unique complexities. He often mentors other successful entrepreneurs.

Marty, along with seven others, founded Mariner in 2006 with a goal of keeping the client at the center of all we do. He wanted to build a firm that could simplify our clients’ lives by having all the resources they need under one roof. The day the doors opened, Marty made the promise to put the clients’ interests before anything else…a promise he still holds dear to this day.

Marty has a bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan

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RIA Edge Podcast: Scaling a High-Touch Wealth Firm with Stephen Rigali

RIA Edge Podcast: Scaling a High-Touch Wealth Firm with Stephen Rigali

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In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong speaks with Stephen Rigali, executive managing director at Kayne Anderson Rudnick, about the firm’s evolution from a family office into a $55 billion platform and how it has approached growth with intention over four decades.

He shares how the firm prioritizes organic expansion, structured advisor development and long-term client relationships, along with how it balances high-touch service with scalability, uses specialized partners to extend capabilities, and evaluates the role of AI in improving efficiency without replacing human decision-making.

Key takeaways:

  • How the firm grew from founder capital into a $55 billion platform through steady, organic expansion
  • Why advisor capacity is managed through defined lifecycle stages and proactive resource planning
  • How long-term client relationships are built on trust, alignment and consistent human interaction
  • Why combining in-house expertise with outside specialists strengthens the client experience
  • How AI is being tested to improve research, workflows and operational efficiency across the firm

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Stephen Rigali:

About Our Guest:

Stephen Rigali is the Executive Managing Director and a member of the Executive Management Committee at Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management, a Los Angeles–based investment and wealth management firm founded in 1984. He oversees business development across the firm’s institutional, retail, and wealth management platforms and works closely with the firm’s Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer to help shape the firm’s long-term investment and business strategy. He also serves on the firm’s Risk and Compliance Committee, ESG Steering Committee, and the Investment Committee for the Wealth Advisory division.

Stephen has more than four decades of experience in the investment management industry and has been with Kayne Anderson Rudnick since 1991, playing a key role in the firm’s growth and evolution. Earlier in his career, he was a Vice President at Shearson Lehman Brothers. Stephen holds a B.S. in Business and Economics from Loyola Marymount University and is a CFA charterholder.

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