Merchant Investment Management, a New York-based private partnership that provides growth capital and other support to independent financial services firms, has hired Rich Policastro as managing director, to expand the firm’s network of service providers.
Policastro joins from Hightower, where he was executive director of mergers and acquisitions. Prior to that, he served as president of Round Table Wealth Management, an RIA that was acquired by Cerity Partners. He’s also held senior positions at Schwab Advisor Services and Fidelity.
Merchant, for its part, has been investing in RIA-adjacent businesses alongside its stakes in firms such as Concurrent, Gitterman Wealth Management and Summit Financial.
In 2018, the investment firm partnered with AdvisorAssist LLC, a regulatory, compliance and risk management consulting firm with which it expanded its relationship in 2022. In December of that year, it took a minority stake in Fin.Link, formerly Succession Link, a matchmaking service for RIAs looking to buy or sell that Merchant helped to rebrand in 2024. Others include Republic Capital Group, which provides investment banking and valuation advisory; TAG Intel, which provides geopolitical analysis; Mosaic Advanced Planning, an advanced planning firm launched earlier this year; and Venning Advisors, a tax and accounting services firm.
Tim Bello, co-founder and managing partner at Merchant, said focusing on the broader financial ecosystem is part of Merchant’s evolution toward being a “lifecycle” investment partner providing long-duration capital through equity and credit. He said the setup differs from private equity investing in that Merchant is committed to longer time horizons and providing strategies and resources for businesses to weather market cycles.
In the future, the firm hopes to expand trust services and valuation capabilities that complement existing partnerships, according to a statement.
“Our goal is to be embedded across the scaffolding of the industry—supporting advisors not just with capital but with the infrastructure to grow, protect, and evolve their firms,” Bello said in a statement. “That’s how we become true lifecycle partners.”
Merchant currently serves more than 100 partner firms and RIA practices in six countries, across more than $230 billion in assets.