HB Wealth, an Atlanta-based independent fee-only registered investment adviser managing more than $32 billion in assets, has launched a dedicated Institutional Advisory and Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) practice. The new business segment formalizes and expands the firm’s longstanding service relationships with nonprofit organizations, foundations, endowments, and corporate clients into a purpose-built advisory offering with dedicated personnel and infrastructure.
As part of the launch, HB Wealth has hired Mike Hill and Armond Reese as Senior Institutional Advisors and Shareholders. Hill is based in Nashville and Reese in Atlanta; both bring more than 25 years of institutional investment experience and will lead client development and relationship management across the institutional practice. Both report to Joel Houck, the firm’s Chief Investment Officer.
Hill spent more than 25 years at Truist Bank and its predecessor firms, where he founded and led the Nashville Institutional Investment Management practice. He is a past Chair of CFA Society Nashville and currently serves as Chair of the Nashville Humane Association Foundation. Reese most recently served as Regional Practice Leader in Truist’s Foundations and Endowments Specialty Practice and currently serves as Trustee of the Jesse Parker Williams Foundation, Trustee of Flagler College and Vice Chair of its endowment fund, and Investment Committee Chair of the CDC Foundation.
For HB Wealth, the institutional practice formalizes work the firm has conducted alongside its private wealth business for years — many of the foundations, endowments, and nonprofits it now formally targets are connected to the families and individuals already in the firm’s private wealth client base. The launch adds dedicated resources, service models, and business development focus to a client segment the firm views as a natural adjacency rather than a new market. HB Wealth’s existing investment platform includes more than $5 billion in private market investments spanning private equity, private debt, and real estate — infrastructure Houck described as already suited to the complexity that institutional clients require.
The timing coincides with a significant expansion in OCIO demand. The OCIO market has tripled in size over the past decade to surpass $3.3 trillion in assets and is projected to reach $5.6 trillion by 2029, according to Cerulli Associates, with nonprofits and foundations among the fastest-growing client segments as organizations seek fiduciary oversight, manager selection, and portfolio construction support from outside advisors.
Founded in 1989, HB Wealth operates out of 12 offices across six states with more than 340 employees.
KEY QUOTES:
“We’ve served institutional clients for years alongside the families and individuals who lead them. What’s changing is the level of commitment. This is about building a dedicated infrastructure, people, process, and capability so we can expand our reach and deepen our impact across the institutions we serve.”
Thomas Carroll, Chief Executive Officer, HB Wealth
“Being able to deploy institutional-caliber investment resources to help mission-based organizations grow and fulfill their mission is one of the most rewarding parts of my career. Shepherding clients through the ups and downs of investing and driving meaningful impact across communities is what motivates us, and it was clear from the start that HB Wealth shares that mission.”
Mike Hill, Senior Institutional Advisor and Shareholder, HB Wealth
“Helping foundations, endowments, and public charities navigate their investment and governance challenges has been a guiding light throughout my career. HB Wealth’s investment platform, commitment to high-touch client service, and expanding institutional capabilities make it an ideal partner for organizations seeking thoughtful fiduciary guidance. I’m eager to help build on that foundation.”
Armond Reese, Senior Institutional Advisor and Shareholder, HB Wealth
“We’ve spent more than 30 years building an investment platform that includes over $5 billion in private market investments, including private equity, private debt, and real estate. That infrastructure was built to meet the complexity that institutional clients face. Institutional clients don’t need us to start from scratch. They need what we’ve already built.”
Joel Houck, Chief Investment Officer, HB Wealth
