Realta Wealth Names New Chief Operating Officer

Realta Wealth – the hybrid registered investment adviser based in Wilmington, Del., with assets totaling $3.3 billion – announced the appointment of John Barragan as chief operating officer.

This decision comes just months after the firm’s previous COO, Mark Helliker, was named in January. Helliker resigned unexpectedly due to health reasons, as confirmed by Kevin Keefe, Realta’s chief executive, and reported by Citywire.

Keefe expressed appreciation for Helliker’s contributions during his tenure with Realta Wealth’s executive team and extended well wishes for his personal journey.

Barragan previously served as the chief operating and compliance officer at Kestra Investment Management. His experience also includes leadership roles within the personal financial management operations team at Goldman Sachs and several years at Cetera Financial Group, culminating in his position as senior vice president and head of strategic operations.

“At a time when many of the larger enterprises in our industry are losing their cultures and diverting their attention away from quality service as they focus on building scale, it’s refreshing to join a firm like Realta that has an unwavering commitment to providing a high-touch experience,” said Barragan. “I look forward to listening to our advisers, learning about their businesses and working with the Realta leadership team to provide them with the innovative tools, value-added resources and personalized services they need to thrive.”

Keefe added, “John’s hands-on change-management experience across the broker-dealer and RIA space makes him a terrific addition to our leadership team.”

As previously reported by The DI Wire, Realta Wealth hired industry veteran Tim Bowman, CPA, as chief financial officer in March of this year, and completed a rebrand from CoastalOne in January.

Realta operates both RIA Realta Investment Advisors and broker-dealer Realta Equities. The firm, founded in 1989 on Cape Cod, Mass. As of January 2024, Realta had around 160 adviser employees and affiliates across both businesses.

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