NewEdge Capital Group has notched its largest buy yet for its nascent employee “Pillar” channel. The move reflects the continued evolution of the wealth management space as it is increasingly being shaped by the emergence of scaled advisor platforms offering capital, infrastructure and enterprise participation.
NewEdge announced on Monday that it added Birmingham-based Stonegate Investment Group, a $6 billion advisory practice, to the Pillar Channel of NewEdge Advisors—its W-2 affiliation model designed for established advisory teams seeking liquidity and growth capital while maintaining client continuity. The 13-person team is led by industry veteran Tony Smith, who founded Stonegate in 2021 after departing UBS with his team following more than a decade at the wirehouse.
With Stonegate’s addition, NewEdge’s Pillar Channel now represents more than $14 billion in client assets across 14 advisory teams—nearly doubling the size of the employee-affiliation program since its launch in 2023.
While financial terms were not disclosed, the transaction reflects a broader trend that has been unfolding across the wealth management ecosystem: the increasing attractiveness of enterprise-level equity participation for advisory teams.
“Financial advisors are witnessing a significant shift in the wealth management industry,” says Roger Gershman, CEO of The Gershman Group. “Enterprises like NewEdge have unlocked substantial value for practices that once had to choose between working at a big bank or going it alone.”
“These firms are providing a boutique culture with wirehouse resources and alignment of values between ownership and advisors,” Gershman added.
The move also extends a list of recent marquee hires and acquisitions for NewEdge, which added Justin Waterman’s $25 million-revenue practice in November and last month brought on another team from Ameriprise.
The Rise of Advisor Platform Optionality
One of the defining characteristics of the NewEdge model is optionality.
Advisors joining the platform can determine how they want to affiliate, how much of their practice they want to monetize, and how much equity they want to take in the broader enterprise. Some teams operate with minimal liquidity events, while others sell larger ownership stakes in exchange for meaningful participation in the platform’s equity.
This flexibility has become a key differentiator as advisors evaluate their long-term strategic options.
Historically, breakaway teams that left large wirehouses often built independent practices designed primarily to maximize annual cash flow. That’s how Stonegate started. But while successful practices could generate strong economics, their enterprise value was typically limited to the valuation of a single advisory business.
By partnering with a platform like NewEdge, advisory teams can participate in a larger enterprise that may eventually achieve significantly greater scale, liquidity, and valuation than any single practice could achieve on its own.
The Enterprise Equity Equation
For many advisory teams, the calculus ultimately centers on equity.
Standalone advisory practices historically transact in the range of roughly 6 to 8 times EBITDA or EBOC (earnings before owner compensation) depending on growth, margins, and client demographics.
Participation in a scaled advisory enterprise can materially alter that equation.
Platform equity in well-capitalized advisory aggregators has the potential to reach enterprise valuations approaching 20–25 times EBOC when firms achieve meaningful scale, institutional backing, and strategic optionality around future liquidity events.
For advisory teams that have already built successful businesses, exchanging a portion of practice-level ownership for enterprise-level equity can therefore represent a compelling economic proposition.
In effect, advisors transition from owning only their own practice to becoming shareholders in a much larger and potentially more valuable organization.
Stonegate’s move illustrates how that equation is increasingly resonating with large advisory teams.
From Breakaway to Platform Partner
Stonegate’s trajectory reflects a path that is becoming more common in the independent wealth channel.
The team initially executed a breakaway from UBS in 2021, forming its own RIA after more than a decade at the wirehouse. That move allowed the advisors to gain independence and control over their practice.
The next step, partnering with a scaled platform, represents a different phase of business evolution.
Rather than operating purely as a standalone RIA, the firm is now aligning with an enterprise that provides expanded infrastructure, capital resources, and a broader strategic platform while still preserving the core advisor-client relationship.
According to Stonegate CEO Tony Smith, the partnership was designed to strengthen the firm’s operational capabilities while allowing advisors to remain focused on delivering advice.
“This partnership strengthens the infrastructure, resources, and continuity supporting our client relationships, allowing us to focus even more on delivering thoughtful, personalized advice without compromise,” Smith said in the announcement.
A Platform Designed for Mid-Career Advisors
NewEdge launched the Pillar Channel in 2023 to address a specific market opportunity: established advisory teams that are not yet ready to exit their businesses but are interested in accessing liquidity, growth capital, and succession planning resources.
The structure allows advisors to continue operating under the NewEdge Advisors brand while receiving a combination of cash and equity in the enterprise. Advisors also retain significant discretion over:
- Investment Management - Technology and CRM - Custodian - Product selection - Client service and staffing According to NewEdge Advisors co-founder and CEO Alex Goss, the structure is intended to monetize advisor businesses without disrupting the client relationships that drive them.
“Our Pillar Channel affiliation ensures that a transaction doesn’t change the continuity and quality of service for clients,” Goss said in the firm’s announcement.
For many advisory teams, the appeal lies in maintaining autonomy over client relationships while gaining access to a broader platform capable of supporting future growth, recruiting, and acquisitions.
NewEdge’s Expanding Platform
Founded in 2020, NewEdge Capital Group has grown rapidly across multiple advisor affiliation models, including traditional independent advisors, hybrid structures, and employee-affiliated teams.
At the end of 2025, the firm reported more than $88 billion in client assets. It also has backing from its company, retirement plan servicing giant EdgeCo. Holdings.
The expansion of the Pillar Channel suggests that demand for hybrid employee-platform structures may be accelerating as larger advisory teams seek strategic partners capable of supporting both liquidity and long-term enterprise growth.
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