In this episode of Growth Leaders of Wealth Management, we’re talking to Pathstone, a family office like no other, with 23 locations, over 750 team members and more than $100 billion in assets.
Key Takeaways:
What gap in the market led to Pathstone's founding? Co-founder and CEO Matthew Fleissig saw that ultra-high-net-worth clients needed a single family office that could handle everything; investments, accounting, taxes, payroll, and more. Pathstone was built to fill that void, and the vision has since expanded into becoming the first national brand for UHNW clients.
What are the three pillars behind Pathstone's growth? According to Brad Armstrong of Lovell Minnick Partners, it comes down to technology, services, and acquisitions. Organic growth through word of mouth carried the firm past $16 billion, but those three pillars are what pushed them to the next level.
How does Pathstone approach acquisitions without losing culture? They take a human-centered approach. President Kelly Maregni and Matthew Fleissig both emphasize cultural fit, leadership collaboration, and careful process integration. The goal is to make growth strengthen the organization, not strain it.
Matthew Fleissig, Co-founder and CEO of Pathstone, says the firm was born from a gap they saw for UHNW clients of a financial office that covered everything from investments to accounting to taxes to payroll and beyond. He now envisions Pathstone becoming the first-ever national brand for UHNW clients.
Brad Armstrong, a partner at Lovell Minnick Partners, lists what he sees as the three core elements of Pathstone’s growth strategy: tech, services and acquisitions. While organic growth via word of mouth carried them over the $16 billion mark, those three tenets helped push them to the next level of growth.
One of the biggest challenges they ran into almost immediately was the lack of technology specifically created for family offices due to low demand. They got by for a while, but after taking on their first PE partner, they doubled their tech budget and built their own tool called ARROW, which stands for Accounting, Reporting, Rebalancing, Optimization & Workflow.
With the tech in place, Pathstone’s leadership could focus on scaling their company. Matthew and Kelly Maregni, Pathstone’s President, speak at length about what it takes to successfully merge two companies after an acquisition. While they both admit that there’s always more to learn, they’re still seeing success. (Just look at their October 16, 2024, acquisition announcement of Hall Capital Partners, a $45 billion firm out of New Jersey!)
Since their founding in 2010 when they managed $1.4 billion, they have seen 10% growth every year – and they share everything they’ve learned. From building an “apprenticeship business,” to hiring their first CMO, Lauren Fryefield, in 2022, to returning email inquiries within minutes with a phone call from a local team, Pathstone exemplifies what it means to join the ranks of “Growth Leaders of Wealth Management!”
With $100 billion AUM already achieved, Pathstone continues to focus on innovation, talent development, and client experience.
Their goal: to redefine what a national family office can look like for the next generation of ultra-high-net-worth clients.
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Ficomm Partners is the embedded growth partner for results-driven RIAs, and wealth management platforms. With a track record of helping over 250 clients achieve their growth goals, Ficomm understands that while industry patterns may repeat, each firm's growth challenges are unique. Ficomm prioritizes strategy and finds the most impactful ways to move you toward your goals. We align all your marketing activities with your business objectives, acting as your dedicated growth partner with our human-first approach, strategy-first methodology, and unrivaled team of industry marketing experts.
Last updated March 2026