HighTower, the advisor-owned firm, has expanded its partnership development team with two hires, along with completing a round of financing for growth.

Thomas Brown and Frank Epinger have joined the firm as executive directors and relationship managers for the East and West coasts respectively.

Brown, who is based in New York, co-founded Black Valley Consulting, a coaching and consulting firm for advisors. Before that, he was a branch manager of a legacy Smith Barney office, and has also served as head of national recruiting for UBS.

Epinger, meanwhile, spent the last 13 years working for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, most recently as a complex manager in Pasadena, CA, overseeing eight offices.

The expansion of the development team comes just as the firm has secured financing from its incumbent investors which will go toward funding acquisitions.

HighTower has added 37 teams since its inception in 2008 and is looking to add more, both within its existing markets and new ones. The firm employs 250 people through 25 offices in 13 states.

“Tom and Frank are proven experts at identifying and growing client-centric advisor teams,” said Mike Papedis, executive vice president of HighTower. “They will play key roles in our business development initiatives as HighTower expands with new teams and offices across the country.”