Mercer Advisors has appointed Jimmy Zhao as chief corporate development officer, a newly created role that places him at the center of the registered investment advisor's expansion strategy. Zhao, formerly a partner at McKinsey & Company where he led the North American wealth management and retirement practices, advised on more than 50 transactions representing over $100 billion in enterprise value. He joins as the firm closed 18 partnerships with wealth advisory and tax firms in 2025, its most active year for inorganic growth. Over the past decade, Mercer Advisors has completed 116 such partnerships. Zhao will oversee the M&A partner development team, reporting to CEO Dave Welling, and will explore adjacent markets beyond the firm's core focus on wealth and tax firms. The hire follows the recent additions of Melissa Nims as chief solutions officer and Jeremiah Barlow as chief commercial officer.
Alaris Acquisitions, a sell-side M&A advisory firm serving the wealth management industry, has appointed Tony Leonard as managing director of business development, another newly created role. Leonard brings nearly 30 years of experience in retirement and wealth advisory, including positions at MidCap Advisors, Wise Rhino Group, SEI Investments, Putnam Investments, and New York Life Investment Management. He will lead outreach to RIA firms and advance the firm's proprietary benchmarking initiatives, working alongside the senior advisory team on transaction origination and execution. Over the past year, Alaris completed nearly 60 transactions, including deals involving Modern Wealth Management and Brown and Company, The Family Firm and Beacon Pointe, and Aveo Capital and Carson Group. More than half of its engagements are now driven by referrals from past clients. The firm also launched two technology platforms: the Lens application, which uses artificial intelligence to match buyers and sellers based on cultural and financial alignment, and a Buyer Portal for potential acquirers.
JPMorgan Wealth Management has named Phil Camporeale as chief investment strategist. Camporeale, who brings over 25 years of investment experience, most recently served as a portfolio manager in JPMorgan Asset Management's multi-asset solutions group. He succeeds Elyse Ausenbaugh, who moved to a new role as global head of deposits at JPMorgan Private Bank. Camporeale will serve as a public voice on markets and investing, coordinating with senior leadership and investment strategy teams on client priorities.
KKR has appointed Lauren Goodwin as managing director and chief investment strategist within its global wealth solutions business. Goodwin joins from New York Life Investments, where she was chief market strategist. She will focus on developing tools for financial advisors and translating KKR's market research for use across wirehouses, RIAs, private banks, and independent broker-dealers. Her earlier career included roles at Wells Fargo, Frontier Strategy Group, JPMorgan, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. KKR's wealth platform spans more than 180 distribution platforms and covers private equity, credit, real estate, and infrastructure strategies.
Ares Management has promoted Peter Ogilvie to chief operating officer and head of strategy, expanding a role he has held in various forms since joining the firm in 2007. Ogilvie most recently served as a partner and head of the Ares corporate strategy group, and has been involved in several major acquisitions, including Allied Capital, American Capital, Black Creek Group, Landmark Partners, and GCP International. Before Ares, he worked in the leveraged finance and restructuring group at Credit Suisse.
Cliffwater, a private markets interval fund manager, has added a retirement specialist from Goldman Sachs. The hire underscores the growing demand for alternative investments in retirement portfolios. Cliffwater manages over $40 billion in assets and is known for its interval fund structures that provide liquidity to private markets.
These moves reflect a broader trend in wealth management: firms are bolstering their M&A capabilities, investment strategy teams, and retirement-focused offerings to capture growth and serve an increasingly complex client base. For more on Mercer Advisors' growth, see Mercer Advisors Hits $110B in Client Assets, Organic Growth Outpaces M&A. For insights on JPMorgan's wealth management leadership changes, read JPMorgan Workplace Solutions CEO Vince La Padula Departs for Treasury; Ben Walter Takes Helm.
