Rockefeller Adds Former Morgan Stanley Team to Its Private Wealth Business

Rockefeller Global Family Office, the wealth management division of Rockefeller Capital Management, recently added Variant Path Group, a 10-person team based in Charlotte, N.C., to its growing private wealth business.

The team includes Taylor Barden, managing director and private adviser; Tory Raether, senior vice president, private adviser, and team chief investment officer; Kristen Richards, James Freeman, and C. Lee Ives III, all senior vice presidents and private advisers; Harper Hicks and James Waters, each a vice president and private adviser; Alyce Noonan and Maggi Brown, each a senior client associate; and Ashley Haisch, wealth management analyst.

The group joins from Morgan Stanley – Barden was there for 17 years – and will report to Kristen Sario, who leads the southeast division of Rockefeller Global Family Office. Variant Path Group was recently named to Forbes’ list of “2024 Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams.”

Rockefeller has been growing its southeast division, adding Lewis Wealth Partners earlier this month (Virginia), Bridgeline Wealth Partners in October 2023 (Georgia) and Decision Point Wealth Partners in September 2023 (North Carolina), both formerly of UBS.

“The Charlotte area is one of the fastest growing in the United States, and Variant Path Group brings deep ties to the community dating back more than 60 years,” said Christopher Dupuy, president of Rockefeller Global Family Office. “The group’s reputation for providing excellence in financial advice and client service to individuals, families, business owners, and professionals across generations makes it a perfect fit with Rockefeller’s mission and culture.”

Charlotte is the nation’s second largest banking center, Sario noted, with a vibrant, diversified economy featuring rapid growth in the transportation, technology, energy, education, and healthcare sectors, as well as a rich cultural offering. “Variant Path Group will play a central role in bringing the Rockefeller experience to a growing number of current and future clients,” she said.

Rockefeller Capital Management was established in 2018 as a leading independent financial advisory services firm. Originally founded in 1882 as the family office of John D. Rockefeller, the firm has evolved to offer strategic advice to ultra- and high-net-worth individuals and families, institutions, and corporations from 50 locations across the United States and in London. As of Dec. 31, 2023, the firm was responsible for $122 billion in client assets across its three businesses: Rockefeller Global Family Office, Rockefeller Asset Management, and Rockefeller Strategic Advisory.

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