SageView Names Wealth Management Head in Sign of Evolving Industry

SageView Advisory Group this morning announced the addition of Jim Dario as its first head of wealth management.

The leadership at SageVeiw says Dario’s hiring to this key new role underscores the firm’s commitment to accelerating growth as a provider of comprehensive wealth management solutions for individuals and families across the country. Alongside other national registered investment adviser shops, SageView has been actively acquiring firms with a concentration in wealth management over the past several years, complementing its longstanding retirement plan consulting business.

According to SageView Founder and CEO Randy Long, the firm’s wealth management business has grown to more than $4 billion via organic strategies and acquisitions, with plans for “further robust expansion throughout 2022 and beyond.”

Reflecting on the pace and future of retirement industry M&A activity, Long says there is a lot of runway left to go. His personal perspective is that retirement adviser-focused deals will likely continue at the current pace for at least several years. On the wealth management side, he says he sees potentially another decade of accelerated dealmaking. In this context, it is no surprise the firm has taken the step of bringing Dario on board.

“In terms of the signals it sends to the marketplace and to our clients, it is very meaningful and special to have this new title of head of wealth management, and to be bringing Jim into the role,” Long tells PLANADVISER. “We have not had anyone with this title before. He is coming to the table really understanding the technology and the product development that have been reshaping the wealth management industry.”

Dario previously served as head of product management and strategy at TD Ameritrade Institutional, where he focused on supporting business growth and client experience objectives. At SageView, he is charged with reimagining the firm’s overall wealth management strategy and managing the development and implementation of a full-service advisory platform—including design, product development, pricing, promotion and training.

According to the firm’s hiring announcement, with Dario’s support, SageView will seek to make additional acquisitions of successful independent wealth management firms. The firm aims to be in a position to support individual plan participants who are interested in attaining a higher degree of financial wellness and desire a financial planning solution. The firm will also work to support the growth of its existing financial advisers with improved technology, tools and talent.

“Our firm’s well-established leadership in supporting qualified retirement plans by driving individual financial wellness for plan participants uniquely positions us for considerable future success,” Long says. “Qualified retirement plan assets represent the single greatest financial asset for most individuals and families. As older generations advance toward retirement in ever-larger numbers, SageView’s capabilities and expertise as a wealth management solutions provider, with its historical focus on financial wellness, will be increasingly in demand.”

For his part, Dario tells PLANADVISER that he looks forward to leveraging the experience he has gained while partnering with “countless RIAs” over his multiple decades of experience working with large custody platforms.

“SageView’s business model and wealth management growth strategy stand out as both distinctive and actionable,” Dario says.

Prior to joining TD Ameritrade Institutional, Dario was head of business development and relationship management for Pershing Advisor Solutions. Before that, he served in senior roles in the institutional wealth business of Fidelity Investments.

“The firm’s expansion potential is especially bright given its tremendous growth momentum to date, combined with the significant backing the firm enjoys through Aquiline, which has emerged as a top private equity investor in the wealth management industry,” Dario says. “I’m excited to join SageView, and I look forward to working with Randy and his incredibly talented leadership team to create a truly differentiated wealth management offering for the firm’s advisers and clients.”

Long says other key hires made in the past year will also be supporting this mission. These include Jeremy Holly, hired last year as chief development and integration officer. Additionally, SageView in early 2022 welcomed Amy Barber as vice president of legal, regulation and compliance.

“When you think about the evolution of this marketplace, it is significant,” Dario concludes. “The place of employment is becoming the natural center for peoples’ financial lives. Success is about building trusted relationships with employers and participants alike, by focusing on each and every clients’ pre- and post-retirement needs. The other crucial piece of the puzzle is bringing a fiduciary approach to the table on the wealth management side, which SageView does so well.”