Elevation Point Takes Stake in Indianapolis RIA Forta Wealth
Elevation Point, a minority investor in independent and breakaway advisors launched in 2024 by former Sanctuary Wealth CEO Jim Dickson, has taken a minority stake in Forta Wealth Partners, an Indianapolis-based firm with over $900 million in assets. The six-person team previously operated as The Turner Group within Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
The Forta team is led by principals and wealth advisors Will Turner, Jon Shurtz and Harrison “Taylor” McDougal. Turner had been with Merrill for 20 years.
They’re joined by Brandon Marvel, associate, client services; Holly Hynes, manager of team and client services; and Madeline Armstrong, financial advisor.
Dickson, a former Merrill Lynch division leader, said he was the one who gave Turner his start two decades ago.
“Twenty years ago, almost today, I gave Will a job offer at Merrill Lynch to enter this business,” Dickson said. “And then here we are almost 20 years to the day later, and I get to sit on his cap table as an investor.”
The firm, with clients across 26 U.S. states, specializes in serving C-suite executives, business owners, wealthy multi-generational families, physicians, endowments and non-profit organizations, and professional athletes. They also provide retirement plan advisory services to 401(k) plans.
Forta has chosen Goldman Sachs Custody Solutions for custodial services. Last year, Elevation Point expanded its existing partnership with Goldman Sachs, providing advisors with access to banking, lending, trading, asset management and capital markets capabilities. It also added Goldman as one of its custodians.
One of the things that attracted Forta to Elevation Point was the access to alternatives.
“Two and a half years ago, I was sitting across a prospect’s kitchen table,” Turner said. “At the end of the meeting, I had a polished proposal, and I wore my best suit, and they said, ‘Hey, Will we trust you, and we’re working with you, but I have to ask one question. What are you doing with your money?’
Turner had a lot of success investing in private markets in his own portfolio, but he couldn’t bring those same investments to his clients.
“The ability for our new firm to offer unique private investments to the clients that need it and want it, it’s not the right fit for everyone, is a differentiator and is something that we’re very excited about,” he said.
Elevation Point offers access to alternatives through Goldman Sachs, as well as its family office relationships.
“It’s about having advisor choice and for that advisor to say, ‘Look, I’ve got these big institutional names that everybody knows that I feel comfortable with. Check we got that. I also have some bespoke maybe real estate deals or unique co-investments or other things that some of the wealthiest families in the world are doing,’” Dickson said. “Through our alt platform, which we call Alt 62, we’ve built that combination, and a lot of advisors are finding it to be really powerful both with existing clients and potential clients.”
Forta represents the latest partnership with Elevation Point, following news earlier this month that it made a minority investment in Harbor View Private Wealth, an Atlanta-based wealth management firm with $1.3 billion in assets, previously with UBS.
Last May, Elevation Point sold a minority stake to Emigrant Partners. While Emigrant Partners and Elevation Point have similar business models, the investment gave Emigrant exposure to the breakaway advisor market.
In the 19 months since inception, Elevation Point has closed 10 deals with independent RIAs with a combined $11.9 billion in client assets.