The Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors

Activating Plan B: Wirehouse Breakaways Build a Legacy Family Wealth Office

5 snips

May 8, 2025

Guest

Kay Campione

Guest

Trent Leyda

Join Trent Leyda, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at SpirePoint, and Kay Campione, a former CIA officer turned Executive Director at SpirePoint, as they share their intriguing journey from wirehouse firms to building a legacy-focused family wealth office. They discuss the challenges of traditional wealth management, their commitment to client-centric service, and the importance of independence. Kay highlights her unique transition from intelligence to finance, while Trent emphasizes the value of teamwork in fostering strong client relationships.

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ANECDOTE

Unusual Career Paths to Wealth Management

Trent started in a family wealth office and then built his own wealth management practice focusing on larger families.
Kay spent 12 years with the CIA in four countries before transitioning into wealth management, bringing unique global perspectives.

INSIGHT

Shared Human Goals Across Cultures

Living in diverse countries showed Kay that everyone fundamentally cares about family security.
Bureaucracy in government made her seek a less restrictive private sector environment, fueling their breakaway.

INSIGHT

Complementary Partnership Dynamics

Trent and Kay split responsibilities: Trent leads new business and client relationships; Kay manages firm operations and ensures client servicing.
They collaborate closely, sharing client meetings and daily planning for complex family wealth.

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With Trent Leyda, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer and Kay Campione, Executive Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at SpirePoint Private Client

Overview

Trent Leyda and Kay Campione offer a unique perspective on their time at Morgan Stanley, how it had come to diverge from their vision of building a family office they would entrust with their own families’ wealth, and how they are better equipped to realize that vision as an independent firm.

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NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Diamond Consultants. Neither Diamond Consultants nor the guests on this podcast are compensated in any way for their participation.

About this episode…

This episode features a few plot twists that differentiate it from the typical wirehouse breakaway story.

For instance, one advisor who spent a dozen years with the CIA before starting a career in wealth management.

The balance of the story is one that’s far less covert, but just as compelling.

Trent Leyda was at Morgan Stanley when he met Kay Campione, a former CIA field intelligence officer turned Merrill advisor. She later left Merrill for Morgan and, with Trent, built a business managing some $1.4B in assets.

They had a strong focus on managing family wealth, which often left them wondering if the firm they worked for was the firm they’d want to manage their own family’s wealth and legacy.

It was thoughts like these that inspired Trent to say, “Let’s put a Plan B together, just in case.”

That plan, which revolved around building an independent firm, was later put into action. And in October 2023, Trent, Kay, and three other team members left to launch the RIA firm SpirePoint Private Client.

In this episode with Louis Diamond, Trent and Kay talk about their transition, including:

Their goals in building a family office—and why they felt they could only achieve them in independence.
Building an RIA firm—and the role tru Independence played in the process.
Choosing custodians—and why both Schwab and Goldman Sachs were the right partners.
The tangible benefits of independence—and how that translated into a firm they would trust to manage their families’ wealth and future.

Want to learn more about where, why, and how advisors like you are moving? Click to contact us or call 908-879-1002.

Related Resources

The 2025 Annual Report on Transitions and Deals for Financial Advisors – 2024 Activity Data
Data-driven insights and analysis on advisor transitions, deals, and the evolving wealth management industry landscape.

The Competition Conundrum: Charge Less or Offer More?
Clients have more choices than ever before. Here are 5 ways to stand out from the crowd.

How Badly Do You Want It? A Process to Help Assess Whether Change is “Worth It” — A Special Industry Update
In looking for “better ways” to foster growth and solve for other long-term goals, advisors need to weigh the value of pain vs. gain when it comes to a transition. In this special episode, Mindy and Louis Diamond share a process for answering the seminal question: Is change really worth it?

Kay Campione, CFP®
Executive Director
Senior Portfolio Manager

Prior to co-founding SpirePoint Private Client, I was an advisor with The Leyda Group at Morgan Stanley from 2017 to 2023 and have been in the financial services industry for 17 years.

From 1999 to 2011, I worked as a case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency. My role as a field intelligence officer helped me develop a knowledge of international markets and economies as well as an understanding of what drives human behavior. My husband, Paul, and I served four tours overseas, including Korea, Nigeria, Kenya and Indonesia.

In 2014, I received the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) designation*. I earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Northwestern University.

I take great pride in our team being recognized as a Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Team in 2023.

As a first-generation immigrant, I am an unapologetic patriot and a lifelong fan of the Chicago Cubs. My husband and I are blessed parents of two sons and one daughter. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling, cooking (and eating) and spending time with my family and close friends.

Trent Leyda
Managing Director
Chief Investment Officer

Prior to co-founding SpirePoint Private Client, I led The Leyda Group at Morgan Stanley from 2009 to 2023. I started my career in New York City in 1995 working for a family wealth office, eventually becoming head of investments. After moving to Vero Beach in 2001, I have focused on building a team to become a high-performance family wealth office. SpirePoint is the result of decades of experience and commitment to achieving this objective.

I am honored to have received recognition as a Top 1200 Barron’s Advisor and Top Forbes Advisor from 2018-2023. I am particularly proud of our team being named as a Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Team in 2023.

I received an MBA from Pace Lubin School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in International Economics from The State University of New York. Both degrees were earned going to night school while working full time.

I have been blessed both professionally and personally with the support of my wife, Rachel, and our son and daughter. As I was raised by a single parent, my experience with parenthood has been and continues to be the most humbling and rewarding experience of my life. In my free time, I enjoy travelling with my family and trying to improve my golf game.