Captrust M&A head Benton reveals departure plans

Rush Benton

The four-decade veteran behind the firm's inorganic growth strategy is departing to start his own business.

Rush Benton, the industry veteran who’s led Captrust’s M&A-driven growth strategy for more than decade, plans to move on. The firm’s senior director of strategic growth announced he would be leaving the firm to pursue a personal business venture.

In an emailed statement, Benton, who has played a crucial role in expanding the firm through mergers and acquisitions, expressed pride in his accomplishments at Captrust.

“I am proud of the more than 40 wealth management-focused firms that I have been a part of adding to Captrust,” Benton stated. He emphasized the significance of these firms, recognizing them as “some of the most respected names in the industry.”

During his tenure exceeding a decade, Benton has been instrumental in shaping Captrust into one of the nation’s premier providers of retirement plan and wealth management advice.

His career in the wealth industry spans nearly four decades, with significant stints at various influential firms before joining Captrust in 2013.

Benton founded Weaver Barksdale & Associates, an institutional investment manager in Nashville, Tennessee. Later he led WealthTrust, a conglomerate of high-net-worth wealth firms managing approximately $6 billion, and then spent 2½ years as managing partner at Benton Capital Partners, an M&A consulting firm.

Fielding Miller, chairman and CEO of Captrust, commended Benton’s contributions to the firm over the years.

“We are thankful to Rush for his more than 11 years with Captrust, during which he has been the primary face of our wealth management M&A strategy,” Miller said.

In September, acquisition-hungry Captrust received a “minority growth investment” from private equity firm Carlyle Group. That marked Captrust’s second private equity stake; it received a similar investment from GTCR in 2020.

Miller reassured stakeholders of the firm’s ongoing commitment to growth through strategic acquisitions, highlighting the strength of the team Benton leaves behind.

“Our deal team is and has been comprised of some of the top professionals in the industry,” Miller said, reaffirming the firm’s push to “add the highest-quality firms and advisors from around the country to our family.”

The latest episode in that ongoing story occurred in January, with Captrust snapping up a $770 million Texas RIA.

Benton thanked Fielding and the Captrust team for their support as he “[fulfills] a lifelong dream of opening a business.

“While Rush is moving on from Captrust, we thank him for his dedication and we wish him well in his new endeavor,” Fielding said.

It’s unclear who will be succeed Benton at Captrust.