Cardinal Haven Initiative Launches in Support of PE Firms Navigating Wealth Management Space

News comes on heels of Haven Tower’s strategic alliance with investor relations and financial communications firm Conway Communications

May 26, 2026

This article was originally published by AdvisorHub.

Private equity investors have staked their claim in the wealth management business, and evidence suggests these firms will only solidify their presence in the industry going forward. A 2025 research report disclosed PE investors now have ownership over nearly one-quarter of industry assets, and the number of PE-backed RIAs rose 16% in the year ending July 2025. One trend driving this growth: PE investors are casting a wider net, expanding their target market beyond mega firms: 81 RIAs with less than $1 billion in AUM reported PE ownership, up from 62 firms a year earlier.

As these two worlds continue to intertwine, the need for specialized expertise that supports the communications needs across the lifecycle of private equity ownership in wealth management is essential. And, as more PE firms enter the space, successfully executing their strategic growth plans means controlling their narrative and ensuring their message is delivered in a way that resonates in the marketplace. The problem? The wealth management ecosystem is unfamiliar territory to most PE firms, and not knowing the lay of the land can prove costly.

The recently announced strategic initiative between Haven Tower Group, an award-winning communications and PR agency focused on the wealth management arena, and Cardinal Communications Strategies, a financial communications firm serving private equity sponsors, is poised to fill this gap.

“We’ve seen a recurring dynamic in the market,” said Joe Kuo, Founder & CEO of Haven Tower Group and Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Ascentix Partners. “Private equity firms active in wealth management often retain agencies that do a great job for PE generally — but wealth management isn’t their daily world. Then portfolio companies feel stuck, because they need a partner that’s fully immersed in the advisor ecosystem. This alliance fixes that problem.”

The Cardinal Haven strategic alliance pairs Haven Tower’s industry-focused expertise across RIAs, hybrids, dual registrants, family offices and wealth platforms with Cardinal’s experience helping PE firms communicate effectively in markets that are intensely competitive in capturing high-quality deal flow.

“Our Cardinal Haven Initiative is an exciting alliance that addresses multiple practical needs on both sides of any private equity transaction in the wealth management space. It’s also a strategic partnership that has happened very organically, as part of a relationship between each other built over many years,” said Marc Raybin, Founder & President of Cardinal Communications Strategies. “Sponsors want sponsor-level communications rigor, and portfolio companies want an agency that truly understands their industry. Haven Tower brings that wealth management fluency, and we bring private equity communications discipline. Together we can support both, without either firm changing who it is.”

Both Haven Tower and Cardinal Communications will continue as stand-alone, independent firms.