Ryan Marcus, managing director of engagement at MarketCounsel, has joined Binah Capital Group, the public firm created final yr with the merger of dealer/supplier aggregator Wentworth Administration Companies and Kingswood’s SPAC, as chief enterprise and engagement officer, a brand new position. He’ll report on to Binah CEO Craig Gould, and can work alongside David Shane, CFO.
Marcus, who had been promoted to his position at MarketCounsel final yr, had been at that firm and The Hamburger Legislation Agency for near 14 years. He began there in 2009, left in 2014 to affix RBC, after which rejoined in early 2019.
The 45-year-old mentioned it was time to increase upon what he had realized underneath MarketCounsel President and CEO Brian Hamburger’s management and tackle a brand new problem.
“I needed to problem myself and tackle a job that was with a bigger group that was a little bit bit extra ambidextrous so far as what the tasks had been, that had a higher footprint inside wealth administration,” Marcus mentioned.
Binah has some $27 billion in property throughout its subsidiaries, together with dealer/sellers Cabot Lodge Securities, World Fairness Group, and PKS Investments, one in every of MarketCounsel’s and Hamburger Legislation Agency’s largest shoppers.
Within the new position, Marcus will develop and implement a enterprise growth technique throughout the three b/ds. He’ll additionally foster strategic partnerships with platform RIAs, equivalent to Sanctuary, that want a company RIA or pleasant b/d.
“One of many advantages of being entrance and middle at MarketCounsel is that I’ve fortunately sufficient grow to be one of the linked folks in all of wealth administration, and I intend to make the most of that to Binah’s profit,” Marcus mentioned.
Marcus mentioned he’ll work on making PKS’s company RIA a extra viable possibility for advisors who might wish to forgo their very own RIA.
“PKS is traditionally seen as an RIA-friendly dealer/supplier. Effectively, they are often rather more than that.”
He’ll additionally work to increase the companies and capabilities of the dealer/supplier in order that it’s extra of a services-oriented agency, versus a extra accommodating agency.
Marcus mentioned his determination to depart MarketCounsel was emotional, but supported.
Hamburger mentioned the agency doesn’t plan to rent anybody else in a gross sales position.
Final Might, MarketCounsel employed Anthony Stich, former chief income officer at digital custodian Entrustody, as govt managing director.
“Shortly after Tony got here on board, we aligned on a listing of aims and priorities,” Hamburger mentioned. “Tony turned to gross sales and advertising and marketing, one thing that he is aware of rather well. And he fairly rapidly arrived at this very selfless conclusion that this group doesn’t want gross sales and advertising and marketing.”
“He got here again and mentioned, ‘The demand that you simply guys have to your companies and options that you may present merely outpaces what we will ship. Now we have to do a really unmarketing factor, which is strip out a lot of the sources that we dedicated to gross sales and advertising and marketing and reallocate them.’”
MarketCounsel has expanded its govt workforce in latest months. In December, the agency employed Paul Lally, a former accomplice at Wipfli, as head of enterprise options. Additionally final yr, the agency added Kristen Benadom, former head of authorized at Nitrogen, as normal counsel of The Hamburger Legislation Agency. Simply this month, the agency employed Jim Pavia, a former senior editor at CNBC, as managing director of communications.