Brennan joins to drive business development and support elite RIA advisor transitions

Trusted Advisor Search (TAS), a premier specialized transition advisory firm for elite financial advisors, today announced the appointment of Katie Brennan as Senior Vice President, Advisor Recruiting and Business Development. In this role, Brennan will focus on expanding the firm’s footprint across the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) channel and leading strategic business development initiatives.

TAS dynamically matches financial advisors with RIA, broker-dealer, and hybrid firms, aligning cultures, practices, technologies, and talent to enable long-term success for both partner firms and the advisors it brings to them.

With extensive experience in wealth management recruitment, advisor transitions, and talent acquisition, Brennan brings a deep understanding of the independent landscape. She has successfully guided numerous high-producing advisory teams through complex transitions, strategic growth planning, and affiliation decisions.

“Katie’s deep network and extensive expertise in the RIA channel make her a valuable addition to our team as we scale our presence as a premier strategic consulting and advisor transition firm,” said Dave Porter, CEO and Co-Founder of Trusted Advisor Search. “With the number of top-tier advisors exploring new channels skyrocketing, having someone of Katie’s caliber ensures we continue providing the high-touch, tailored guidance transitioning advisors need to build and protect their enterprise value.”

Prior to joining TAS, Brennan served as an executive recruiter and key account manager at Professions, Inc., specializing in the placement of pedigreed financial advisors, private wealth managers, and finance professionals. Throughout her career, she has built a strong reputation as a trusted partner to advisors seeking to navigate business model choices and maximize long-term equity.

“The momentum in the RIA space is unprecedented, and advisors require far more than automated recruiting tools—they need true advocacy and strategic guidance,” said Brennan. “I’m thrilled to partner with Dave, Tom, and the entire Trusted Advisor Search team to help advisors confidently navigate their transition options and achieve optimal outcomes.”

The addition of Brennan comes as TAS continues to expand its comprehensive advisory services, helping financial advisors navigate custom transition planning, financial engineering, and legal risk mitigation—including the firm’s proprietary Number 1 Protocol framework, led by Co-Founder and veteran securities attorney Tom O'Connor.

“Katie is a fantastic addition to our expanding team of recruiting specialists,” said TAS Co-founder Tom O’Connor. “Her legal background and proven track record with RIA advisor transitions make her uniquely qualified to help advisors find the ideal firm, and help top RIAs recruit the talent they are looking for to expand their businesses.”

Brennan earned her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from Michigan State University.

About Trusted Advisor Search

Trusted Advisor Search was founded by Dave Porter, who scaled Baystate Financial into one of New England’s largest advisory practices. TAS helps elite financial advisors navigate the complexities of the transition process to new RIA, broker-dealer, or hybrid channels. It offers a unique model that integrates in-house legal counsel and end-to-end guidance that includes career coaching, platform alignment, firm fit assessment, compensation analysis, and financial negotiation — ensuring advisors and prospective firms are legally protected, maximize value, and achieve their objectives.

Serving both advisors navigating change and RIAs and broker-dealers seeking aligned, vetted talent, TAS’ comprehensive program de-risks transitions while aligning cultures, practices, technologies, and people to dynamically match advisors with the right firm, resulting in safer, smarter, and more successful transitions for advisors and the firms they join.

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“Katie’s deep network and expertise in the RIA channel make her a valuable addition to our team as we scale our presence as a leading advisor transition firm,” said Dave Porter, CEO, Trusted Advisor Search.