Hightower Cuts About 5% of Staff in 'Ongoing Strategic Realignment'

Hightower, like Envestnet and Orion Advisor Solutions only a few days earlier, said it was cutting jobs.

In Hightower’s case, about 5% of the Chicago-based registered investment advisor’s staff are affected, a company spokesperson said Wednesday.

The layoffs were “across the corporate organization” but “not advisors,” and there were no changes among the firm’s executives as part of these “recent internal adjustments,” according to the spokesperson.

“It’s important to clarify that these decisions were made as part of our ongoing strategic realignment, aimed at optimizing our resources and ensuring the long-term success of our business,” the Hightower spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added: “We remain confident in our financial stability and are committed to delivering exceptional service to our clients within the Hightower community as we move forward.”

Hightower, which as of June 30 had about $131 billion in assets under manamgement, has announced several RIA acquisitions and investments in 2023.

In August, the company said it facilitated a sub-acquisition on behalf of Highland Private Wealth Management, its advisory business based in Bellevue, Washington, with Trellis Advisors, an RIA based in Ellensburg, Washington, with over $470 million in AUM.

In late May, the company said it acquired RIA Vigilant Wealth Management, a full-service wealth management business with offices in Portland, Maine, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that manages about $2.3 billion in client assets across 500 households.