Verdence Capital Advisors, a Maryland-based registered investment advisory firm serving business owners, sports and entertainment professionals, wealthy households and multigenerational families with about $3.3 billion under management, unveiled its updated turnkey service platform for other RIAs this week.
Formerly Verdence/OCIO, the new name, look and website highlight an expansion of services designed to support growth and succession for solo practices and small to mid-sized firms.
Verdence/RIA+ will continue offering investment management—including access to private markets, research, educational content and due diligence—along with a slate of new services, including continuity and succession planning, financial planning resources, compliance support and a back office.
“The transformation from Verdence/OCIO to Verdence/RIA+ is so much more than a name change,” Verdence CEO Leo Kelly said in a statement. “It embodies our commitment to evolving alongside our clients and the transition of this part of our business from an OCIO solutions provider to a full-service RIA extension.”
“Among the important additions to the program are continuity and succession planning,” said Peter McGratty, who joined Verdence in November to oversee the development and expansion of the platform. He was named director of Verdence/RIA+ in February.
“Advisors do such a good job helping clients plan for the unexpected and for their retirement, but often do not spend the time planning for their own circumstances,” he said. “This is becoming critically important as advisors look to retirement. ... If the question of what comes next is an open one, that is a challenge we are uniquely equipped to meet.”
Before Verdence, McGratty was a managing partner at Precursor Asset Management, following over 12 years as vice president of strategic partnerships for Pinnacle Advisor Solutions, a firm he helped found in 2009 that was sold to Congress Wealth Advisor Solutions in early 2021.
"We engaged Peter in mid-2023 and were impressed by his experience, passion, and vision accretive to our existing OCIO platform," Kelly said. "Peter joined our team and we immediately began detailing and building the expanded offering."
Backed by Emigrant Partners and majority owned by Kelly, who founded the firm in 2017, Verdence Capital Advisors manages more than 6,000 client accounts for almost 1,500 households, more than a dozen charities and retirement plans, and 46 other companies that account for just over 5% of total assets managed, according to its most recent ADV filing.