CAPTRUST is a leading independent investment advisory firm specializing in comprehensive wealth management, retirement plan advisory services, and endowment consulting. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, the firm has experienced significant growth, establishing a national presence with over 90 locations across the United States.
CAPTRUST offers a broad spectrum of services tailored to meet the diverse needs of its clients, including:
Wealth Management: Providing personalized financial planning, investment management, estate planning, and tax strategies for individuals and families.
Retirement Plan Advisory: Offering fiduciary advice, plan design consulting, and participant education to retirement plan sponsors.
Endowment and Foundation Consulting: Delivering investment advisory and risk management services for nonprofit organizations, including educational institutions, healthcare organizations, and religious entities
Throughout its history, CAPTRUST has demonstrated resilience, strategic foresight, and an unwavering commitment to its clients and employees,solidifying its position as a leader in the investment advisory industry.
Leadership and Philosophy
Under the leadership of co-founder and CEO J. Fielding Miller, CAPTRUST emphasizes integrity, client-centric service, and a commitment to excellence. Miller, recognized for his innovation and entrepreneurship, has guided the firm with a vision to be the most valued and impactful company in the history of the independent financial advisory industry. The firm's leadership team comprises experienced professionals dedicated to maintaining a culture of employee ownership, with over 950 of its 1,600 employees holding equity stakes in the company.
Acquisition Partnership Insights
CAPTRUST has a well-established history of growth through strategic acquisitions, having completed over 70 transactions since 2006. The firm seeks partnerships with growth-minded advisors who align with its client-first philosophy and holistic service approach. By offering equity as a significant component of compensation, CAPTRUST ensures that acquired firms and their employees are integrated into its ownership culture, fostering long-term commitment and alignment of interests. This strategy has enabled CAPTRUST to expand its service offerings, enhance client experiences, and maintain a unified brand across its national presence.
In summary, CAPTRUST's dedication to integrity, client-focused solutions, and strategic growth has established it as a prominent leader in the investment advisory industry, offering extensive services to a diverse clientele while fostering a collaborative and inclusive corporate culture.
CAPTRUST emphasizes a client-centric approach that integrates personalized financial planning, investment management, and fiduciary advice. The firm positions itself as a trusted partner, dedicated to guiding clients toward financial wellness and long-term success.
For individuals and families, CAPTRUST offers tailored wealth planning and investment advice designed to meet unique needs and goals. Services include financial planning, portfolio management, and concierge family office solutions, all aimed at simplifying financial complexities and empowering clients to make informed decisions about their financial futures.
CAPTRUST recognizes the intricate financial lives of business leaders and provides specialized services to address their unique challenges. The firm helps executives and business owners create efficiencies in their financial plans, allowing them to focus on what matters most. As fiduciaries, CAPTRUST ensures that all advice and strategies prioritize the client’s best interests.
The firm emphasizes its fiduciary responsibility, which ensures that all advice is objective, transparent, and aligned with clients' goals. CAPTRUST independence means their recommendations are free from conflicts of interest, further establishing trust and reliability.
With a national network of advisors, CAPTRUST combines the resources of a large firm with the personalized service and local expertise of a community-focused organization. This structure enables them to address the diverse needs of clients across different regions effectively.
Through its dedication to fiduciary responsibility, personalized service, and a holistic approach to financial planning, CAPTRUST positions itself as a leader in helping clients achieve clarity, confidence, and financial well-being.
CAPTRUST's investment philosophy is centered around providing a high-quality and consistent investment experience tailored to the specific needs of its clients' financial plans. The firm emphasizes a client-centric approach, focusing on long-term growth, risk-adjusted returns, and a holistic view of the client's financial picture. CAPTRUST's philosophy integrates macroeconomic and asset allocation views supported by a diverse array of offerings, including individual securities, funds, ETFs, SMAs, and alternative investments.
Primary Investment Philosophies:
Portfolio Construction: CAPTRUST employs a combination of model portfolios and custom bespoke portfolios. The choice between models and custom portfolios is based on the client's individual circumstances and preferences.
CAPTRUST's investment team is composed of approximately 95 people, including a 10-person investment committee, a centralized trading team, and a portfolio management and transition team. The investment committee meets twice a month to guide portfolio strategy and decisions.
CAPTRUST uses a combination of proprietary research tools, third-party analytics platforms, and expert insights to support their investment decisions. The Investment Group (IG) researches investment managers using proprietary screening and evaluation of registered investment companies and their portfolio managers, as well as other managed investment vehicles and Separate Account Managers.
CAPTRUST offers alternative investments such as private equity, structured products, real estate, and hedge funds. These investments are managed in-house and are available to all clients.
Full Acquisition
Direct Rollover Equity
Yes
Max Cash: 80%
Max Equity: 50%
Standard terms are 60%-80% of consideration issued at closing with the remainder held in retention for 12 months.
CAPTRUST has a variable compensation pool wherein ~30-40% of the revenue is divided among the revenue-driving team members. This pool is allocated based on the partner's discretion.
CAPTRUST wants to promote a unified firm, but understands it may take time to transition. They will co-brand for 6-9 months before the partner fully adopts the CAPTRUST brand
Partners will centralize all back operations to help advisors focus on client-facing activities.
CAPTRUST keeps one P&L for the entire firm, but partners will have insight into their local revenue metrics and input in annual budgets.
CAPTRUST has a client experience that is highly encouraged, but it is not required.
This is a strength of CAPTRUST and they ask all partners to adopt.
Advisors can continue to manage their strategies but must centralize trading.
A Premier Partner for Advisors Considering Acquisition
CAPTRUST positions itself as an ideal partner for financial advisory firms seeking acquisition by offering a collaborative, growth-focused environment that prioritizes client satisfaction, employee engagement, and shareholder value. The firm’s well-established infrastructure, client-first philosophy, and proven track record of successful integrations make it a standout option for firms looking to expand their capabilities and long-term potential.
CAPTRUST boasts a 20-person planning team available for advisors to leverage. This team assists with data entry, participates in meetings, shares best practices, and trains other team members on effectively using eMoney. They aim is to enhance support for serving the end client without influencing the local client experience.
CAPTRUST significantly reduces or eliminates operational responsibilities for advisors, enabling them to focus on client relationships and business growth. They provide a centralized financial planning team, a centralized client service team, and a 10-person investment committee to support advisors. This centralized approach handles non-client-facing tasks such as compliance, marketing, operations, data entry, plan creation, client presentations, and portfolio management, allowing advisors to concentrate on client-facing activities.
Specific Support Areas:
CAPTRUST offers a broad spectrum of services tailored to meet the diverse needs of its clients, including wealth management, retirement plan advisory, endowment consulting, tax advisory, tax prep, family office services, bill pay, and insurance trust and estate planning. These expanded services make the firm more attractive to clients and provide opportunities to increase revenue.
CAPTRUST utilizes several methods to help drive leads for advisors. This includes both the Schwab Advisor Network and Fidelity’s Wealth Advisor Solutions referral programs. In addition to those programs, they also use SmartAsset and Zoe. CAPTRUST leverages both local and national marketing programs to support organic growth for partner advisors. They provide centralized marketing services, participate in custodial referral programs, and have strategic partnerships and internal resources that can be leveraged as natural lead sources. At the national level, CAPTRUST invests in brand awareness campaigns and media initiatives that feed into local offices, providing advisors with additional growth opportunities.
CAPTRUST has a comprehensive approach to developing and mentoring next-generation (Gen 2) advisors. They offer structured training programs such as the CAPTRUST Advisor Academy (CAA) and CAPTRUST University, which provide skills training in areas such as business development, client relationship management, and portfolio construction. They also have a formalized mentorship program that pairs Gen 2 advisors with senior advisors, executives, or partners.