Our Story
"We wanted to create a better mousetrap." - Brian E. Smith, Co-Founder/President/CEO
Our Company was born when several financial professionals, working at various brokerage firms, became increasing dissatisfied with the proprietary wirehouse environment and set out to create an independent alternative. Two of those original founders are still leading our evolution today—Torry Scott, Austin Branch Manager, and Brian Smith.
Through the early years of fast growth the success of the company was phenomenal—ultimately achieving recognition as Fastest Growing Privately Held Company in Austin in 1999 by the Austin Business Journal (ABJ).
As the bear market of 2000 set in the company was completing a merger with a comparable sized firm. Almost immediately the combined entity contracted into survival mode in response to market conditions. The partners knew tough decisions had to be made and went about the business of adjusting the model. In 2004, we rebranded and became RiverStone. Today, the company is regularly featured as one of the largest Wealth Management firms in the ABJ Book of Lists.
At the heart of RiverStone Financial Group is RiverStone Wealth Management, Inc., a regional broker/dealer registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We have developed a strategic relationship with First Clearing, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company, that provides brokerage clearing services for our clients. We are independently owned by full-time, financial industry professionals with corporate headquarters in Austin and satellite offices in Houston and San Antonio.
Our complementary business units include RiverStone Insurance Agency, RiverStone Business Advisory Services, RiverStone Tax Advisory Services, and RiverStone Investment Banking.
Our business strategy is to recruit the finest talent, arm them with the best tools, deploy optimal support systems, and consistently deliver a compelling client experience. A key differentiator for RiverStone Wealth Management is our business model. We employ a distinct, hybrid structure that brings together the robust technology platform and industry-leading products and research of a global financial wirehouse, with the non-proprietary, open architecture of an independent firm. This structure allows our Wealth Advisory Teams greater freedom in serving the unique needs of each client. In practice, we deliver best-of-breed products and world-class service to clients who are on their way to building a sizable estate, or those who have already amassed one. Our Wealth Advisors build the types of long-term relationships with clients that span a lifetime, and even generations.
RiverStone was founded as an entrepreneurial firm and is dedicated to attracting the right team, and finding creative ways to provide for the diverse financial needs of all those who put their trust in us.