CAPTRUST Names New Head of M&A

CAPTRUST Financial Advisors has appointed Mike Wunderli as head of mergers and acquisitions to lead the firm’s strategic inorganic growth initiatives.

Wunderli joins CAPTRUST from Echelon Partners, a boutique investment bank where he had served as a managing director since 2016, overseeing M&A activities across wealth and asset management. Prior to Echelon, Wunderli spent 12 years at Lehman Brothers and UBS.

According to CAPTRUST, Wunderli has worked closely with entrepreneurs and business owners throughout his career and has collaborated with investment managers, private equity funds, family offices, trading desks and various capital providers. In his new role, he will use “his broad view of the marketplace to identify firms that align with the CAPTRUST vision.”

“I’ve been on the other side of the table for the last nine years, and I’ve seen how the industry’s top acquirers have evolved. CAPTRUST’s elite offering, coupled with its integration expertise and deep resources, distinguishes it among the nation’s top financial advisory firms,” said Wunderli in a statement. “In my view, a select group of elite firms will emerge as the clear leaders in the independent space, and CAPTRUST is uniquely positioned to elevate the industry to new levels of quality, integrity, and fiduciary stewardship.”

Wunderli joins CAPTRUST more than a year after its previous head of M&A, Rush Benton, left the firm—after 11 years and more than 40 wealth management-focused deals—to start his own business.

In a statement, CAPTRUST CEO Fielding Miller said, “The industry is at an inflection point. We wanted someone who was ready to face those challenges with energy and enthusiasm. Mike is ready. He fits CAPTRUST, and he fits our strategic ambitions for the future.”

Redondo Beach, California-based Wunderli holds a bachelor of arts degree from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.