San Francisco-based wealth management firm Robertson Stephens recently established a Houston office with a series of new hires.
Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC announced the hiring of Christopher Knapp as managing director and principal of the firm’s Houston office on Feb. 2. Knapp previously served as CEO of Houston-based Collaboration Capital, a wealth management and advisory firm focused on impact and environmental, social, governance (ESG) investing. He brings more than $200 million in assets to Robertson Stephens, the company said.
The addition of Knapp grows Robertson Stephens’ total assets to approximately $1.9 billion as of January.
“Joining Robertson Stephens enables us to better support the individuals and multigenerational families we serve with complex and sophisticated wealth management and family office needs,” Knapp said. “We are excited to bring our early and longstanding expertise in ESG and impact investing to a national leader in wealth management and offer the firm’s institutional quality investment strategies and comprehensive financial planning solutions through a leading digital platform.”
A spokesperson for Robertson Stephens confirmed Knapp was joined in the move by four colleagues from Collaboration Capital: Annelise Bovet, Gary Fitzgerald, Ron Lerner and Anne Robertson. The establishment of the Houston office brings Robertson Stephens’ headcount up to 47 employees across nine locations. Outside of San Francisco and Houston, the wealth management firm has offices in New York City; Denver; Seattle; Austin; Sun Valley, Idaho; Holmdel, New Jersey; and Marin County, California.
“Christopher’s expertise in impact and sustainable investing will result in the broadening of our investment offerings to include an enhanced ESG framework and will align our capabilities to address an increasingly important dynamic for our clients,” said Raj Bhattacharyya, CEO of Robertson Stephens. “Moreover, this transaction expands Robertson Stephens’ franchise into Houston, which combined with our growth into Austin last year, emphasizes our commitment to Texas and the Southwest, a key growth market for our firm.”
Roberston Stephens launched wealth management services for high net worth clients in 2018 with sponsorship from New York-based private equity firm Long Arc Capital. Prior to closing in 2002, a previous iteration of Robertson Stephens was a notable investment bank during the dot-com boom.
Before founding Collaboration Capital, Knapp served as co-founder and CEO of Chilton Capital Management, a Houston-based provider of investment advisory and fiduciary services. Knapp stepped down as CEO of Chilton Capital to found Collaboration Capital in 2016.
Collaboration Capital merged with Houston-based equity crowdfunding platform NextSeed in 2019. Around a year later, NextSeed sold its small business investment platform to New York-based private investing platform Republic.
https://www-bizjournals-com.ezproxy.rice.edu/houston/news/2021/02/03/robertson-stephens-houston-office-chris-knapp.html
