AdvisorHub reported on November 5, 2026 that Osaic Wealth has named Tom Metzger to oversee its Empowered Independence employee segment, according to an announcement from the firm. AdvisorHub said the channel quintupled its assets this year to $25 billion. In the same news cycle, WealthManagement.com and InvestmentNews reported that Osaic also hired a new chief marketing officer, Manish Shrivastava, as part of a leadership change at the broker-dealer network.
According to Osaic's announcement, as summarized in the research notes, Metzger comes from Citizens Financial Group, where he was head of private wealth. The release says the platform he helped build serves approximately $30 billion in client assets, with 18 advisory teams and more than 200 professionals. That figure measures client assets held by Citizens' private wealth unit, not the size of the bank itself. Before Citizens, the release lists roles at First Republic Bank, Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase, with a focus on advisor recruiting and business growth. Metzger is based in San Francisco.
The release says Metzger succeeds Cindy Hamel, who moves to the role of head of business operations and execution. The company describes the handover as planned, with the aim of maintaining continuity. Shannon Reid, Osaic's president and head of advisor growth and engagement, provided a supporting statement in the announcement. AdvisorHub reported, citing an Osaic spokesperson, that Metzger will join in the coming weeks.
WealthManagement.com reported that Osaic also hired Manish Shrivastava as chief marketing officer. It described him as the firm's first CMO since Susan Theder, who left Advisor Group in 2021, before the firm's 2023 rebrand to Osaic. InvestmentNews reported that Shrivastava spent 12 years as chief marketing officer of homebuilder PulteGroup before joining Osaic, will work from Atlanta, and has earlier roles at Coca-Cola, Home Depot and Procter & Gamble.
AdvisorHub reported that the Empowered Independence channel launched in 2023 to retain and acquire independent practices. Several firms joined the channel in 2026, as covered below. Bard Financial Services, a Branford, Connecticut firm with about $1.2 billion in AUM, joined in February. Gateway Investments, with $1.5 billion, moved to the channel in April, and the release for that deal said the Pointes North transition added more than $2 billion in April alone. Tri-State Financial Group, a Cincinnati team with about $575 million in assets under advisement, joined in June. Pointes North Wealth Management, which manages more than $500 million in client assets, moved from 1099 to W-2 status, according to FA Magazine.
Osaic is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, and was formerly known as Advisor Group, according to Wikipedia. Wikipedia lists Osaic as a portfolio company of Reverence Capital Partners. A later capital raise of $2 billion was led by investors including Reverence Capital Partners, Bain Capital, Lexington Partners and an Ares Management affiliate, according to Asset Management News. Jamie Price is chief executive and Reid is president. Osaic's About page cites more than 11,000 financial professionals and more than $700 billion in assets under administration, a measure distinct from AUM. Asset Management News reported that assets under custody and management rose 26% from 2023 to 2025, reaching $758.4 billion, aided by roughly $115 billion from the Lincoln Financial units.
The leadership changes come against a year of senior departures. InvestmentNews reported that Dimple Shah left Osaic in May 2026 after four years, following the hiring of Reid as president. In July, Osaic confirmed that CFO Kristy Britt and Greg Cornick were leaving, and a company spokesperson said there would be no press release on the pending departures, according to FA Magazine. WealthManagement.com reported that Kristen Kimmell left in June to rejoin RBC Wealth Management and that Osaic named Sayee Bellamkonda chief AI and technology officer in August. A September 2026 report cited by Asset Management News put registered-rep exits at 1,153 in 2025, up 73% since 2021.
Citizens Financial Group is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, and reported $226.4 billion in assets as of December 31, 2025, according to its annual report filed with the SEC. That figure is bank balance-sheet assets, not assets under management. According to a later SEC filing, the unit's clients include wealthy households at the upper end of the market, along with investors, entrepreneurs and businesses.
The sources do not say what changes Metzger will make to the channel, or whether the Hamel handover will alter how the channel is run. What the announcement does establish is that Empowered Independence is now led by a executive from a bank-owned private wealth platform, at a time when Osaic is filling several senior roles.