🎥 Hightower's Larry Restieri - building a $1T RIA and operating at the intersection of private markets and private wealth

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode dives deep into the world of wealth management with someone whose career is emblematic of the intersection of private markets and private wealth.

We sat down with Larry Restieri, the CEO of Hightower.

Larry is the CEO 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.

Larry joined the firm in June 2025 from Goldman Sachs, where he was a Partner. Larry served as the CEO of Goldman’s AYCO business, which specializes in workplace financial planning and private wealth advisory services.

He held a variety of leadership roles at Goldman across its wealth and asset management divisions, including heading up the Alternative Capital Markets business.

Larry and I had a fascinating conversation about the continuing convergence of private markets and private wealth from someone who was at the forefront of this industry transformation. We covered:

The evolution of private markets within the wealth channel.

Lessons learned from Larry’s time building Goldman’s Alternative Capital Markets business and the AYCO business.

The path to building Hightower into a $1T RIA.

The “Volkswagen model of wealth management.”

The build-out of Hightower’s Signature Wealth brand.

What does the continued buildout of private equity-backed platforms mean for the evolution of wealth management?

What drives financial advisors?

The benefits of the independent RIA model.

How and why wealth clients should be thinking about private markets.

Thanks, Larry, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion at the intersection of private markets and private wealth.

Thanks for reading Alt Goes Mainstream! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work - writing and podcasting about the convergence of private markets and private wealth since December 2020.

A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus, the full-service fund administrator and transfer agent powering asset managers in private and public markets. As alts go mainstream, you need real expertise to handle complex fund structures, connect with key distribution partners, and handle sophisticated compliance, reporting, and transparency demands.

That’s Ultimus: high-tech, high-touch solutions for over 450 clients and 2,500 funds with $775B in assets under administration. Backed by an expert team of over 1,200 employees, they place client service at the core of their business, helping you navigate complexity during your fund structuring or launch and then supporting you through every stage of growth. Whether you’re already in the market or thinking about entering private wealth, you can trust their team’s deep expertise in retail alternatives to help you reach your goals.

Learn more: ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Show Notes

00:30 Meet Larry Restieri

01:25 A Message from Ultimus Fund Solutions

02:35 Larry’s Career Story

08:44 Why Hightower CEO

09:28 Next Evolution Wealth

10:29 RIA Platform And Tech

12:16 Democratizing Alternatives

13:28 Selling Illiquidity Correctly

15:02 Education Avoids Surprises

18:05 Platform Scale And Choice

28:58 Signature Wealth Brand

29:21 Growth Targets Ahead

29:50 Platform Benefits Deal

29:58 Acquiring The Bahnsen Group

30:58 Inorganic Growth Model

31:26 Client Brand Question

32:02 Volkswagen Brand Model

32:43 Why Brand Matters

33:37 Values Across Teams

34:01 Building Unified Culture

35:04 Advisor Community Summit

35:49 Why Keep Independence

36:33 Hightower 3.0 Strategy

38:09 Advisor Client Connection

38:44 Defining Open Architecture

40:12 Private Equity Impact

42:29 Exit Paths Going Public

44:09 M&A Multiples Pressure

46:05 Market Cycles and Rates

47:48 Private Markets Allocation

49:32 Advisor Private Market Fears

51:10 GPs Serving RIAs Better

52:05 Enterprise GP Partnerships

53:06 Non-Obvious Alt Take

54:50 Closing Reflections

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