Bentley Blackmon, CEO of Naviter Wealth
A year from now, Naviter Wealth should be well on its way to completing a four-office expansion that will take it to the Big Apple, Music City, Big D and Hotlanta. The new faces associated with those offices stand to double the size of the Little Rock firm in more ways than one.
“By the end of ’23, we’ll be north of $1 billion in terms of assets under management,” said Bentley Blackmon, CEO of Naviter Wealth. “We would at least double the employment with the new teams.”
The registered investment adviser currently tallies more than $558 million in assets under management supported by a staff of seven. That dollar total puts the firm at No. 17 on this year’s list of largest money managers based in Arkansas. If all goes as planned, next year’s growth would put Naviter in the top 10.
During the first quarter of 2023, Blackmon expects to open offices in New York and Nashville, Tennessee. He expects to have addresses in Dallas and Atlanta before the end of 2023.
There also could be additional cities that join the second round of openings in some of the nation’s largest markets.
“It may be more than two, but let’s err on the conservative side,” said Blackmon, a chartered financial analyst and certified exit planning adviser. “Our vision is to be in eight to 10 cities over the next two to three years.”
Where are future out-of-state Naviter teams coming from?
“Some are out of broker-dealers,” Blackmon said. “We’ve had more traction with firms that have already gone independent. They’re looking for more back office support, which we can provide. Surprising to me. I thought more of our conversations would be with broker-dealers.”
Formed on Dec. 29, 2020, and launched a couple of weeks later, Naviter is headquartered in the Riverdale area of Little Rock, operating out of ground-floor office space in Riverwalk Plaza at 1 Information Way.
The corporate moniker blends two Latin words: “navigare” (navigate) and “iter” (journey). The name is presented as a calling card of a financial guide helping clients navigate their financial journey.
Ouster to Opportunity
Naviter Wealth was put in play in 2020 after Blackmon, a managing director at Stephens Inc. of Little Rock, was fired after 17 years with the financial services firm. His parting began with a late filing of regulatory paperwork that escalated into his dismissal.
The paperwork was related to private placement transactions involving an investment that wasn’t among the official list of products offered by Stephens. Blackmon’s final date of registration to do business at the firm was Oct. 5, 2020.
Naviter was incorporated two months later, and five members of Blackmon’s team at Stephens resigned to join the firm.
The roster of former Stephens personnel at Naviter includes Phillip Worthen, a former Stephens senior vice president, who is president at Naviter; Jordan Bauer, a former financial consultant, who is chief operating officer, certified financial planner and certified public accountant; John Kornet, a former financial consultant, who is chief investment officer and CFP; Daniel Russell, a former portfolio administrator, who is chief compliance officer; and Valerie Edwards, a former sales associate, who is director.
Completing the Naviter lineup is Katie McDaniel, a certified public accountant who came to the firm from the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City, Missouri.
Worthen oversaw Naviter’s opening before Blackmon, after waiting out the expiration of his six-month employment contract with Stephens, came aboard in March 2021. Their friendship began when they were roommates at Ouachita Baptist University.
“Our entire team has been together for years,” Blackmon said of the Stephens alumni at Naviter.
At Stephens, the team managed $1.7 billion in client assets for 80 high net worth families. A chunk of that business migrated to Naviter, which reported $521.7 million in assets under management in July 2021. Some of
those relationships date to Blackmon’s entry into the securities business with the Little Rock office of Morgan Stanley in 1995.
“We’ve got some clients that go back 27 years,” said Blackmon, who
worked for nearly eight years at Morgan Stanley before joining Stephens. “A couple of my very first clients have stuck with me.”
As a registered investment adviser, Naviter operates as a fiduciary. That legal distinction requires the private, independent wealth management firm to put the best interests of the client first.
“That was a welcome change in our world,” said Blackmon of the shift from operating as part of a broker-dealer. “We own the same investments that our clients own. I don’t recommend that clients own what I don’t own.”
Alternative investments, such as private placements through stock offerings or providing credit and participating in private real estate investments, are a big attraction to beating the performance of stocks and bonds.
“We heavily use alternative investments and have had significant gains in a world where traditional markets are performing poorly,” Blackmon said. “We never have a client come aboard and say, ‘I just can’t wait to invest in public equities.’ It just doesn’t happen.”
New business for wealth management firms is often generated by a growing trend among business owners.
“Our clients almost exclusively come through liquidity events, most commonly selling a business,” Blackmon said. “You’ve got businesses that in the past would’ve only transitioned to the next generation of family. But the next generation isn’t always interested in the family business.”
On Sept. 21, Naviter announced the addition of trust services to its menu of options. The company offers comprehensive corporate trust and custody services through a partnership with National Advisors Holdings Inc. of Kansas City, Missouri, and its affiliates.
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