Cresset has brought on financial advisors Chris Tiano and Nick Smith, a duo who managed $1.1 billion at Lazard Wealth. The pair joined Cresset as managing directors late last month, according to registration records. Cresset announced the move on Wednesday.

Tiano has worked closely with business owners and entrepreneurs whose wealth is concentrated in their companies, helping them scale their businesses and navigate liquidity events. He says that Cresset "truly understands the complexities entrepreneurs, business owners, and multigenerational families face as their wealth evolves."

Smith's practice has focused on ultrahigh-net-worth individuals and families, as well as institutional clients. His clients have included multigenerational families and newly wealthy individuals.

A spokeswoman for Lazard's wealth management business didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on their departure.

Cresset says both advisors have extensive experience in the financial services sector, though their tenures as registered financial advisors have been relatively brief. Tiano first registered as a broker with D.A. Davidson in 2013 and had a brief stint with DNB Markets that ended in 2015. He didn't re-register as a broker until 2024 when he joined Lazard. At Cresset, he is registered as an investment advisor and has dropped his broker registration.

Before his time at Lazard, Tiano worked at Focus Financial Partners and Glenmede Trust Company, according to Cresset.

Cresset says that Smith has been advising wealthy clients for the past 15 years, though he wasn't registered as a broker or advisor during most of that time. He first registered as a broker with Merrill Lynch in 2021 and registered as an investment advisor with Merrill in 2023 before jumping to Lazard in 2024. Like Tiano, Smith dropped his brokerage registration when he moved to Cresset.

Cresset says that Smith "built his career" as an associate at Fiduciary Trust Company International and as a client advisor with Bessemer Trust.

Tiano has joined Cresset's operation in Los Angeles. Smith is based in New York. Cresset CEO Susie Cranston praised both advisors for their expertise and client-service model.

"Nick and Chris exemplify the high caliber of advisor we seek to attract to Cresset -- deeply experienced professionals who put clients at the center of everything they do," she says .

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July 23, 2026 16:03 ET (20:03 GMT)

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