What Happened When Hightower Put 'Well' in Wealth

In 2020, Hightower Advisors replaced its original branding and tagline, “Hightower … an unobstructed view,” which sought to attract wirehouse financial advisors and emphasized that the firm’s advisors are fiduciaries.

Instead, Hightower’s rebranding and tagline — well-th. rebalanced. — expands the definition of wealth to all aspects of one’s life.

“What makes you feel rich inside may not be just money,” Hightower’s chief marketing officer, Meghan McCartan, says in an interview with ThinkAdvisor.

In the interview, McCartan explains that the rebranded tagline, a conversation-starter with prospects and clients, indicates that Hightower is not strictly about investments.

That means more opportunities for advisors to explore multiple aspects of a client’s life, especially concerning physical and mental health.

“It’s the whole picture of what makes you feel complete inside,” says McCartan, who has more than two decades of industry marketing experience. This includes a stint as director of marketing at MetLife Financial Services and running her own consultancy for 14 years.

Comparing financial advisor marketing today to that of 10 or 20 years ago, she notes that clients “want to know who [advisors] are as a person.”

Hightower’s rebranding has been such a hit, McCartan says, that even the financial advisors who were initially slow to warm to it now include the tagline in their blogs and “have made it a part of their mantra.”

ThinkAdvisor recently interviewed McCartan, who was speaking by phone from her base in Guilford, Connecticut. Here are excerpts from our interview.

THINKADVISOR: What does Hightower’s rebranding and tagline, “well-th. rebalanced.,” mean?

In our view, wealth is more than money and investments. It’s the whole picture of what makes you feel complete inside.

And what makes you feel rich inside may not be just money.

How does it contrast with the branding it replaced?

The old tagline was “Hightower … an unobstructed view.” That alluded to advisors being able to have conflict-free investments.

When Hightower started, it was [targeting] advisors leaving the wirehouses, where they were forced to sell certain products and weren’t able to act as fiduciaries — [that is], in the best interest of their clients.

When they came to Hightower, they were able to do what’s right for clients as a fiduciary. Hightower [focuses on] an entire financial plan.

As the firm evolved, we were less about simply investments and moved to the wealth concept: That’s more than just investments but holistic health and the entire picture of everything that goes into making you wealthy.

How does “well-th. rebalanced.” motivate advisors?

It opens the door to conversations that are more than just about investments. The first step is why we spell it that way.

Then it’s about that your financial health definitely contributes to your mental health and your overall health.

How do these pieces work together? Where do we need to focus to get you on track for your goals?

Your goals may not simply be a number in a retirement account.

Does the “well-th. rebalanced.” branding resonate with clients who aren’t wealthy financially?

That’s what’s kind of cool: It opens the door to thinking about your whole life and how many different pieces are part of it. 

For example, it opens up conversations about mental health. We have a series in which we’re talking with a number of therapists, psychologists and medical providers.