Lead Advisor — Values-Driven, Fee-Only RIA (NYC)

Retained search conducted by Transcend PM

Location: New York, NY (Midtown, near Grand Central) | Status: Full-time, hybrid (4 days in office, 1 day remote) | Compensation: $200,000–$250,000 base salary + bonus and benefits

About the Search

Transcend PM is conducting a retained search on behalf of our client, an independent, fee-only fiduciary RIA based in Midtown Manhattan. The firm's clients share an explicit commitment to ESG investing, sustainability, social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, addressing food insecurity, and human rights — and they expect their advisor to engage with those commitments as fluently as with portfolio strategy and tax planning. This is not a firm where mission is a marketing layer; it's how the team chooses clients, builds portfolios, and spends its days. The firm is small, collaborative, and protective of work/life balance for its team.

We are managing this search confidentially. Qualified candidates will speak first with Transcend PM; we'll share the firm's identity and additional details after an initial conversation.

The Role

The Lead Advisor will own financial planning and investment management for a segment of the firm's clients, serving as the primary relationship lead and trusted strategist. This is a role for someone who genuinely loves the craft of planning — the long conversations, the nuanced trade-offs, and the intellectual honesty of helping clients align money with meaning. The firm's investment team builds and trades the portfolios; an experienced operations team handles day-to-day execution. The Lead Advisor's focus is the client.

Specifically, the role includes:

• Owning financial planning and investment management for assigned client relationships
• Leading regular reviews and proactively reaching out to clients between meetings
• Analyzing client income, assets, and circumstances; developing and presenting recommendations and alternatives
• Staying current on markets, financial products, regulatory changes, and the evolving ESG/impact investing landscape
• Collaborating closely with colleagues across investments, planning, and operations
• Occasional travel to a Hudson Valley location and, less frequently, to clients in other states

Who We're Looking For

A senior advisor who views the work as a calling, not a profession. Someone who translates complexity into clarity, builds high-trust relationships over years, and is genuinely interested in helping clients align financial strategy with their values.

Compensation & Schedule

• $200,000–$250,000 base salary
• Hybrid: 4 days in the firm's Midtown Manhattan office (near Grand Central), 1 day remote

How to Apply

Please apply directly with a resume to Justin King at the contact info below.  All inquiries will be handled confidentially by Transcend PM. Qualified candidates will be contacted directly for an initial conversation; we do not share candidate information with our client until both parties have agreed to proceed.

Justin King, COO, Transcend PM 978-505-1528 | justin@transcend-pm.com

Transcend PM is a retained executive search and consulting firm working exclusively with independent wealth management firms. We welcome a diverse pool of applicants from various backgrounds and especially encourage candidates underrepresented in the industry to apply.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree
• 10+ years of financial advising experience, including leading client meetings, providing proactive planning advice, and making investment recommendations
• CFP® required; CFA, CPA, or CIMA preferred
• Series 65, or willingness to obtain
• Demonstrated ability to build lasting, high-trust client relationships
• Strong analytical foundation — planning, research, or another technical discipline
• Adaptive technology skills and intellectual curiosity about the work
• Genuinely team-oriented