By Andrew Welsch

Two ex- Goldman Sachs financial advisors and a former executive of investment bank Stephens have teamed up to launch a registered investment advisory firm with backing from Dynasty Financial Partners.

The Goldman advisors previously managed $2.6 billion in client assets, according to Dynasty. The new firm is based in Atlanta and called Anchyra, based on the ancient Greek word for anchor, says Robert Durham, who was a managing director and regional director at Stephens.

Durham says he and his partners, Zack Cloud and Brian Gately, wanted to launch a wealth management firm dedicated to serving ultrahigh-net-worth clients and family offices. He says the team hopes to recruit other advisors who serve ultrahigh-net-worth clients as partners and the group wants to find unique private investment opportunities for clients.

"Current clients, prospective clients, and advisors we'd like to partner with -- they have all been demanding this," he says. "They want a broader range of products and services, better technology, and a holistic approach to financial planning."

Durham has more than four decades of experience in the industry, according to BrokerCheck, a public database maintained by industry self-regulatory organization Finra. Cloud and Gately had worked at Goldman Sachs since 2015 and were previously registered with Morgan Stanley, according to BrokerCheck. Durham says he's known Cloud and Gately for a long time, and is in a hunting club with Cloud.

In recent years, hundreds of advisors have left large financial services companies to open their own RIAs to have more control over their practices and how they serve clients.

Firms like Dynasty help advisors set up their new firm by assisting with issues such as finding real estate and selecting a custodian to safeguard client assets.

Durham says he and his partners felt confident that launching their own RIA was the right move for them, having seen so many of their peers make the jump first. "We have seen people we know and respect go independent, and be more successful than they were in the captive environment," he says, referring to advisors who were formerly employees of large wealth management companies. "That's when we knew we had to pay attention."

The team chose Charles Schwab as their custodian for client assets, and will be part of a family office network, according to Durham. They opted to partner with Dynasty because they wanted ongoing support as they launched their firm, Durham says. "We're independent, but we're not alone on an island," he says.

Write to Andrew Welsch at andrew.welsch@barrons.com

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June 11, 2025 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT)

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