Hightower CEO Says IPO Could Be ‘On the Table’ in Next 5 Years

Hightower Advisors could pursue an initial public offering in the next three to five years, Chief Executive Larry Restieri said in an interview this week. Restieri stressed that he was not committing to going public but that his firm, which has 650 advisors and $354 billion in client assets, should operate as if a public listing would be possible during that time. “I’m not saying we’re going to be the firm that’ll go public, but I am saying that it at least has to be on the table three to five years from now,” Restieri said. “It may never happen. That’s fine too. But we should at least be operating like we could.” The comments come as private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, which has majority owned Hightower since 2018, has been evaluating next steps. Restieri said that Hightower is not in a “formal” capital-raising process but acknowledged that it is “always in the market for the next buyer or next investors.” As it positions for a potential change in ownership, Hightower continues to expand Signature Wealth, an employee model through which it acquires existing partner practices and outside firms. After seeding the division with $5 billion-asset Frontier Wealth Management in October, Signature Wealth has completed 13 acquisitions, including 11 of its existing affiliates, in 2026 that have brought the unit to roughly $40 billion in assets. Restieri said he expects the new division will reach $50 billion by the end of this year and $100 billion within two years. Signature Wealth could eventually comprise half of Hightower’s revenue, he said. The CEO envisions that ultimately 80% of advisors will affiliate under a centralized model, including Signature Wealth or with a “flagship franchise” such as The Bahnsen Group, which was fully acquired in April. “We don’t need multiple ways to do the same thing,” Restieri said. “There’s a lot of shared knowledge between our practices that can share some resources, and that just allows us to deliver more for our clients.” Hightower was founded in 2008 by former CEO Elliot Weissbluth as a hybrid RIA and broker-dealer platform that recruited wirehouse brokers by offering equity stakes, cash and institutional infrastructure. After several years preparing for an expected IPO that never took place, private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners stepped in with $100 million and shifted the firm toward an M&A strategy. In late 2020, THL recapitalized its investment by bringing in Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Neuberger Berman and Coller Capital as minority investors. Restieri, a former head of Goldman Sachs’ Ayco retirement unit, succeeded Bob Oros in June last year.