RFG Hires CFO From Private Equity Owner Long Ridge
RFG Advisory, the Birmingham, Ala.-based hybrid registered investment advisor platform with more than $7 billion in assets, has added Doug Nelson as chief financial officer, according to a LinkedIn post. Nelson is a former principal at Long Ridge Equity Partners, the private equity firm that took a majority stake in RFG in 2023. Nelson is no longer listed on Long Ridge’s website.
“With deep experience in financial leadership, Doug’s experience strengthens our mission to help advisors accelerate growth, build enterprise value and navigate the next chapter of their business with confidence including succession planning and tuck-in acquisitions,” said Shannon Spotswood, RFG’s CEO, in the LinkedIn post.
He replaces Kenneth Kim, who joined RFG in 2024 as CFO from FNZ.
Nelson had been a principal at New York-based Long Ridge since 2018. Prior to that, he was with F-Prime Capital, a global venture capital firm affiliated with Fidelity. He currently serves on the advisory board at FinTech Sandbox, a Boston-based nonprofit accelerator that provides financial data, hosting and mentoring to fintech startups.
This follows news last month that Ed Swenson, who left Osaic this summer after leading the firm’s RIA solutions division for about two years, joined RFG Advisory as president. Spotswood held that role until July 2024, when she succeeded founder and CEO Bobby White, who moved into an executive chairman role.
RFG has made some big C-Suite hires over the last several years, including Abby Salameh, former CMO of CAIS, as chief growth officer, and Brendan Frazier, founder of Wired Planning, as chief behavioral officer.