RIA Edge RIA Edge Podcast: Hightower’s Evolution and the Launch of Signature Wealth with CEO Larry Restieri
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:
- Listen to the RIA Edge Podcast on WealthManagement.com
- Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Apple Podcasts
- Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Spotify
Connect With David Armstrong:
- WealthManagement.com
- LinkedIn: WealthManagement.com
- LinkedIn: David Armstrong
- Twitter: David Armstrong
- LinkedIn: Informa
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.