# &Partners at a glance

URL: https://www.financialadvsr.com/firms/and-partners
Researched: 2026-10-10
Publisher: Financial ADVSR (https://www.financialadvsr.com)

&Partners is a St. Louis-based hybrid RIA, also registered as a broker-dealer, founded in 2023 by former Wells Fargo Advisors CEO David Kowach with Kristi Mitchem and John Alexander, built to be owned mostly by its advisor teams rather than by private equity. It has recruited heavily from Wells Fargo and Commonwealth and reported about $60 billion in assets across 124 advisor teams as of mid-2026, according to WealthManagement.com.

## Facts

- Headquarters: St. Louis, Mo. [1]
- Founded: 2023, by David Kowach (former president and CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors), Kristi Mitchem and John Alexander [2]
- Ownership: Advisor- and employee-owned; the three founders hold less than 15%, with the rest held by advisors plus a minority interest of the initial outside individual investors (as reported in 2025) [3]
- Legal structure: Dually registered broker-dealer and investment adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ampersand Partners, LLC; Fidelity's National Financial Services is primary custodian [4]

## Size

- Total assets: about $60 billion (as of 2026-07-31) [1]
- Advisor teams (practices) joined since founding: 124 (as of 2026-09-01) [1]

## How advisors affiliate

- Advisor partner (equity owner): Advisor teams join as partners on &Partners' hybrid RIA and broker-dealer platform and receive equity in the firm as part of their recruiting offer. [3]
- Hybrid RIA and broker-dealer: The firm is dually registered, so partner teams can conduct both brokerage and fee-based advisory business through it. [4]

## Recruiting and transition deals

- &Partners funded upfront hiring bonuses of 50% by borrowing and leaned on equity grants to round out its recruiting offers, AdvisorHub reported in 2025, noting the firm had launched with $45 million from its investors. [3]
- The firm said in January 2026 that it intends to cap growth at roughly 150 to 175 advisor teams, which limits how many recruits can share in its equity pool. [5]

Sources:
1. WealthManagement.com: &Partners Recruits Two Teams With $1.5B in AUM, 2026-09-01 (https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ibd-news/partners-recruits-two-teams-with-15b-in-aum)
2. InvestmentNews: Ex-Wells chief Kowach wants 100 advisors at new firm &Partners, 2023-08 (https://investmentnews.com/ex-wells-chief-kowach-wants-100-advisors-at-new-firm-partners-241161)
3. AdvisorHub: Upstart &Partners Targets $120 Billion in Assets By 2028, 2025 (https://www.advisorhub.com/upstart-partners-targets-120-billion-in-assets-by-2028/)
4. Zinn Wealth Management (&Partners practice): &Partners, 2026 (https://www.zinnwm.com/andpartners/)
5. GlobeNewswire: &Partners Wraps Breakout Year, Reinforcing Advisor-Owned Model as Momentum Builds Into 2026, 2026-01-14 (https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/14/3218739/0/en/Partners-Wraps-Breakout-Year-Reinforcing-Advisor-Owned-Model-as-Momentum-Builds-Into-2026.html)