# Former Hightower team launches Perennial Wealth Partners within Integrated Partners

URL: https://www.financialadvsr.com/article/former-hightower-team-launches-perennial-wealth-partners-within-integrated-25d769
Published: October 15, 2026
By: Grant Whitmore, Moves Correspondent
Section: Moves
Publisher: Financial ADVSR (https://www.financialadvsr.com)

An eight-partner team, six of them advisors, has launched a full-service practice inside Integrated Partners, with more than $500 million in client assets according to the firm.

AdvisorHub reported on October 14, 2026 that Perennial Wealth Partners has launched as a full-service wealth management practice and selected Integrated Partners to support it. The launch was announced in a firm statement the same day, which said the practice now operates within Integrated Partners. Wealth Solutions Report followed on October 15, describing the group as eight founding partners who have affiliated with Integrated Partners.

According to the firm's announcement, Perennial is owned by its eight founding partners, six of whom are financial advisors. FA Staff reported that the other two are operations partners. Wealth Solutions Report names the partners as Ben Audley (senior advisor), Sam Awad (principal advisor), Greg Bogdan (principal advisor and chairman), Kurt Helmich (portfolio manager), Michael Im (chief operating officer), Mary Beth McLean (principal advisor), Brady Peat (advisor) and Carrie Shoener (senior advisor).

Before the launch, the team was at Hightower Advisors. Wealth Solutions Report said the team collectively managed more than $500 million in client assets there, and FA Staff reported that the team had recently left Hightower to start its own full-service practice. A LinkedIn profile for Hightower describes the firm as a Chicago-based registered investment advisor with advisors across the United States.

The team's asset figure appears in the firm's announcement as more than $500 million in client assets, managed collectively by the six financial advisors. AdvisorHub's headline gives the figure as $500 in client assets, but its body text gives $500 million, and this article uses $500 million. The firm's announcement says Perennial was founded in Chicago in July 2026.

Per the firm's announcement, Perennial's client base spans high-net-worth households, company owners, corporate leaders, licensed professionals and retirees, and the practice places particular emphasis on women. Wealth Solutions Report also noted that McLean and Shoener concentrate part of their work on women going through divorce or the loss of a spouse.

Perennial told Wealth Solutions Report that it chose Integrated for its technology, back-office support and CPA partner program. AdvisorHub said the firm selected Integrated to take advantage of its customizable open architecture business environment. The announcement states that Integrated Partners will serve as Perennial's registered investment advisor, and that investment advice is offered through Integrated Partners doing business as Perennial Wealth Partners. This review did not locate a separate Form ADV or CRD record for Perennial itself.

Integrated Partners says it has helped financial advisors pursue their entrepreneurial goals since 1996, and it names Paul Saganey as its CEO and founder. The firm reported that it surpassed $30 billion in assets under advisement as it approaches its 30th anniversary, citing $30.5 billion in assets under advisement, including $22.9 billion in advisory assets, as of June 30, 2026. Its Form ADV brochure lists approximately $23.6 billion in assets managed on a discretionary basis as of the same date. These are different measures and are not interchangeable.

Form ADV filings give Integrated's address as Waltham, Massachusetts. FA Staff and Wealth Management describe the firm as Boston-based. Wealth Management identifies Integrated as an office of supervisory jurisdiction of LPL Financial. The company says it has grown from about $12 billion in assets six years ago to $30 billion today, and it launched a private-wealth unit for business owners in February 2026.

Integrated has added teams before. Wealth Management reported that it previously brought in City Square Wealth Management, which had managed $850 million in client assets with six advisors and nine support staff. Wealth Solutions Report reported a separate recruit, RetirementDNA, with more than $1 billion in assets under management.

The sources do not say when Perennial's client accounts moved to Integrated, or whether the partners plan further changes to their practice. Their launch continues a pattern in which advisor teams pair an independent practice with an existing RIA and broker-dealer relationship, rather than building the infrastructure themselves. Recruiters and firm leaders will watch whether the team's asset base grows after the transition.

Key facts:
- Perennial Wealth Partners has eight founding partners, six of whom are financial advisors, according to the firm's announcement.
- The six advisors collectively manage more than $500 million in client assets, per the firm's announcement.
- Perennial was founded in Chicago in July 2026, according to the firm's announcement.
- The team previously managed more than $500 million at Hightower Advisors, according to Wealth Solutions Report.
- Integrated Partners reports $30.5 billion in assets under advisement as of June 30, 2026, including $22.9 billion in advisory assets.

Why it matters: Advisor teams leaving a wirehouse or large RIA often weigh whether a platform can provide technology, back-office support and a registered investment advisor structure without requiring them to build those functions. Perennial's stated reasons for choosing Integrated, including technology, back-office support and a CPA partner program, reflect those priorities. For recruiters and firm leaders, the move is another example of teams selecting a host platform for an independent practice.

Sources:
- AdvisorHub: https://www.advisorhub.com/resources/perennial-wealth-partners-launches-as-full-service-wealth-management-practice-with-500-in-client-assets/
- Wealth Solutions Report: https://www.wealthsolutionsreport.com/perennial-launches-with-over-500-million-in-client-assets/
- prnewswire.com: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/perennial-wealth-partners-launches-as-full-service-wealth-management-practice-302907892.html
- fa-mag.com: https://www.fa-mag.com/news/eight-member-advisor-team-leaves-hightower-to-launch-with-integrated-partners-88795.html
- uk.advfn.com: https://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/share-news/Perennial-Wealth-Partners-Launches-as-Full-Service/99488446
- finance.yahoo.com: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/integrated-partners-launches-integrated-private-140800295.html