RIA-channel wholesalers · United States
Got an open territory? Let's fill it.Happy where you are? Good. Let's talk anyway.
I recruit RIA-channel wholesalers, regional directors and distribution leaders, and nothing else, for asset managers under 300 people. Tell me the metro and the seat, and I'll go find the people already calling on RIAs there.
If you carry an RIA-channel territory, I'll keep you in mind when a seat opens up in your market. No application, no résumé. It stays between us.
Where the RIA-channel bench sits. RIA-channel wholesalers and regional directors on my map, by metro. Updated Sep 2, 2026. Metros with fewer than 5 aren't shown.
Top metros on the map
- New York: 488 on the map
- Boston: 269 on the map
- Chicago: 238 on the map
- Los Angeles: 145 on the map
- Austin: 104 on the map
- Philadelphia: 104 on the map
- Charlotte: 101 on the map
- San Francisco Bay: 90 on the map
A note from Daniel
About Daniel Kelchner
I've spent my career in recruiting. I picked RIA-channel distribution on purpose, and now it's the only thing I do.
I keep a live map of who sits in which seat and who just moved or got promoted.
Reach out and you get me, not a junior researcher. What you tell me stays between us. daniel@kelchnersearch.com · LinkedIn
Daniel
For firms hiring
The firms I focus on
Boutique asset managers, ETF issuers, interval-fund and alts shops, and SMA firms under 300 people, where the CEO, the President or the Head of Distribution makes the hire.
The seats: Regional Director, external wholesaler, RIA consultant, and the distribution leaders who run them.
Not hiring right now? Fine. When you are, I'm here.
How a search runs
- We talk. You tell me the seat, the territory and the product.
- I tell you straight. If the seat will be a hard sell, you hear it from me first.
- We sign. Simple agreement, terms below.
- I go find them. I call the people who fit, not the ones reading job posts.
- You meet a short slate. A few people worth your time, not a stack of résumés.
- Offer and start. I stay in it until they're in the seat.
The terms
- Replacement Guarantee
- If the hire leaves or is let go within 90 days (6 months for leadership roles), I run the search again free.
- Exclusivity
- 90 days on the search.
- Your people
- I won't recruit from my clients.
Questions I get
What does Kelchner Search do?
I run searches for RIA-channel wholesalers, Regional Directors, RIA consultants and distribution leaders. That's the only kind of search I do.
Who do you recruit for?
Boutique asset managers, ETF issuers, interval-fund and alts shops, and SMA firms under 300 people, where the CEO, the President or the Head of Distribution makes the hire.
Where are you based?
Newport Beach, California. I recruit nationwide, wherever the territory is.
What happens if the hire doesn't work out?
If the hire leaves or is let go within 90 days (6 months for leadership roles), I run the search again free.
Do you work on an exclusive basis?
Yes. Exclusivity is 90 days on the search.
Will you recruit people away from your clients?
No. I won't recruit from my clients.
I'm a wholesaler. Is talking to you confidential?
Yes. No application, no résumé. Send me a two-line note and it stays between us.
For people in the field
Thinking about a move?
If you carry an RIA-channel territory and want to know what's out there, send me a two-line note. No application, no résumé. It stays between us.
Let's talk
Hiring? Tell me the territory and when you need someone.
In the field? A two-line note works.
Kelchner Search · Newport Beach, CA
daniel@kelchnersearch.com