Presidio has been investing heavily in building up its technology infrastructure to fuel its expansion, managing director and chief executive Brodie Cobb told Family Wealth Report in an exclusive interview.

Count San Francisco-based Presidio Financial Partners in when it comes to the wave of independents nurturing national ambitions – but don’t call it a roll-up strategy!

Presidio has been investing heavily in building up its technology infrastructure to fuel its expansion, managing director and chief executive Brodie Cobb told Family Wealth Report in an exclusive interview. “We’re looking to grow internally and we also want to have a platform to help firms grow who may want to join us,” Cobb said.

Presidio, which manages close to $4 billion, plans to add staff to its existing offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Dallas, Cobb said, and is currently looking for office space and interviewing candidates for a new Chicago office, set to open next spring. New York is very much on the firm's radar, and acquisition targets around the county are also being scouted, ideally independent firms with between $300 million and $1.5 billion in assets under management.

But Cobb is insistent that Presidio isn’t pursuing a roll-up strategy, unlike other industry pacesetters. Presidio’s goal is to acquire a controlling stake in like-minded firms who “aren’t necessarily looking for an exit strategy,” according to Cobb, but could benefit from a robust reporting, technology and investing platform to help leverage growth.

“There has to be a cultural fit,” Cobb said. “I think roll-ups are a math-building exercise, and are less about culture and more about math. Ultimately, I think they almost never work.”

Presidio, which also has an investment banking arm, has also beefed up its senior management ranks as it prepares to flex its national muscles. Earlier this year, Cobb hired former Charles Schwab managing director and Cetera national sales director Mark Palmer to head Presidio’s wealth management unit. The firm snagged another high-profile name in the spring, hiring Paul Bosacci, a founding partner of Offit Capital Advisors in New York, as chief operations officer.

Indeed, Palmer said Bosacci’s “deep experience” in client service, operations, compliance and reporting would be “invaluable in creating a scalable infrastructure to support the growth of the practice,” adding it would also allow him more time to “build out the firm.”

Crowded field

But Presidio is joining a crowded field jockeying to establish a national presence. Cross-town rival Aspiriant, in addition to its already strong Los Angeles presence, acquired Deloitte Investment Advisors last October, giving the firm new offices in Boston, New York, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukee and Minneapolis, as well as nearly 800 clients and $7.5 billion in assets under management.

And aggregators Focus Financial and United Capital have both been on a roll this year. Just last week Focus added Sapient Private Wealth Management of Eugene, Oregon to its roster as the aggregator’s eighth transaction of the year, boosting its assets to over $45 billion. United, meanwhile, acquired the assets of Peak Capital Investment Services of Denver and Dallas, boosting its total roster to over 30 offices across the country.

Then there’s the slew of regional independents which are also eyeing a national presence, including Mariner Wealth Advisors, Edelman Financial Services, Silverbridge Advisors, Beacon Pointe Wealth Advisors and US Capitol Advisors.

With that kind of competition, the demand for good wealth managers has outpaced the supply.

“Presidio wants to grow in its current footprint,” said former Presidio executive Jeff Spears, chief executive for San Francisco-based Sanctuary Wealth Services, a wealth management consultant and platform provider. “Their growth plans have been in place for several years, but the difficult recruiting environment has prevented them from meeting their goals.”

Cobb counters that Presidio’s technology investment will help the firm leap that hurdle. “We’re talking to incredibly high caliber people,” he said. “They want you to build [the platform] – and then they’ll come.”