Hightower Selects Dispatch for Signature Wealth Operations
Hightower Advisors selected fintech provider Dispatch to handle critical back-office functions for its Signature Wealth channel. This partnership covers advisor transitions and client account openings for the firm's growing employee-managed division. Hightower, based in Chicago, maintains a network of approximately 700 advisors. CEO Larry Restieri aims to reduce operational friction through this integration. By syncing data across various platforms, the firm intends to improve the experience for both its internal staff and the clients they serve.
Dispatch emerged in late 2022 as OneAdvisory before undergoing a corporate rebrand in 2024. The data infrastructure firm has secured $28 million in funding since its inception. Their platform currently manages more than $9 trillion in assets. This significant scale underscores the growing demand for automated data validation in the wealth management sector. The company also recently appointed former Hightower CEO Bob Oros to its board of directors, signaling a tightening relationship between the two entities.
Growth of the Signature Wealth Channel
Hightower Signature Wealth has expanded rapidly since its launch last year. The division currently oversees $35 billion in assets under management across 30 distinct office locations. It supports a growing team of 100 advisors. While the unit initially focused on internal firm growth, it has shifted to include external acquisitions as part of its strategy. The most recent external deal closed this August, marking another milestone in the channel's aggressive expansion strategy.
Adding these practices creates logistical challenges regarding data migration. Integrating new teams into a single national brand requires consistent workflows across multiple custodians. Hightower chose Dispatch after conducting a formal request-for-proposal process. This selection highlights the specific need for infrastructure that can handle the complexities of aggregating disparate advisory practices. Maintaining accuracy across systems like Schwab and Fidelity is central to this mandate.
Industry Implications and Technical Capabilities
The software from Dispatch allows advisors to initiate account openings directly from a customer relationship management system. This process leverages new API capabilities from custodians like Schwab. By eliminating the need to toggle between different software interfaces, firms hope to save significant time. Automating these manual tasks addresses long-standing industry complaints about the slow pace of onboarding new client accounts.
Rob Nance, co-founder and CEO of Dispatch, noted the shift occurring in the broader wealth management space. Aggregators are moving away from loose collections of independent firms toward highly integrated national practices. These structures rely on standardized workflows to remain profitable and efficient. The deal reflects a trend where wealth management firms prioritize technological parity to compete for top talent and client assets in an increasingly crowded market.