Independent registered investment advisory firms in the United States operate in a market where the same firms tend to have the advantage.
Custodial referral programs route institutional client flow toward firms that are already large. The result is a distribution system that concentrates growth among a narrow set of firms, while independent RIAs build through direct relationships.
David Stevens started Stevens Capital Partners in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2020 with over $100 million in assets under management. The firm grew 35% annually for four consecutive years before posting 92% growth in year five.
By most reasonable estimates, it now sits among the largest Black-owned RIA firms in the country. That trajectory was built without institutional referral flow.
How It Started
Stevens grew up in Omaha in a household where academic performance was treated as a baseline expectation. His father served in the military. His mother taught piano for five decades and produced Black history plays on military bases and in schools.
At 19, he walked into TD Ameritrade looking for a summer mailroom job. Instead, he was given a quantitative analysis test. He passed, took a second test, and was hired the same day. What began as an unexpected entry point became nearly two decades inside one of the largest brokerage platforms in the country.
He started in operations reviewing private placement memorandums and alternative investment offerings, moved into institutional exposure, and later transitioned into a client-facing advisory role. Within three quarters of that shift, he became the top advisor out of roughly 800. He built the largest book at the firm. The second largest was 40 percent smaller.
He built that book in Omaha. Clients who had agreed to move significant assets would sometimes meet him in person for the first time and realize they had been working with a Black advisor. Some adjusted. Some did not. The book continued to grow.
Built from Institutional Knowledge
As part of his role, Stevens spent years studying top-performing RIA firms across the country, including their service models, retention strategies, and client experience gaps. That exposure became the foundation for Stevens Capital Partners.
The approach was direct. Identify what leading firms executed well. Identify where they lost clients or failed to capture full relationships. Build a firm structured to close those gaps from the beginning.
In 2020, he left and transitioned over $100 million in client assets. The firm grew through relationship equity, not platform-driven distribution.
A Firm Structured by Segment
Stevens Capital Partners operates across four client segments, each with a defined service model.
The emerging segment serves clients with less than $500,000 in investable assets. These clients receive full planning across estate documents, insurance coverage, tax structure, and asset allocation. Wills, revocable trusts, healthcare directives, and insurance reviews are addressed early rather than deferred.
The mass affluent segment, covering $500,000 to $5 million, receives the same planning depth with a proactive cadence. The firm operates on a four-month engagement cycle and extends access to private market strategies typically reserved for higher asset levels, including select private equity and pre-IPO opportunities.
Private Client Services handles high-net-worth onboarding, while the firm’s multifamily office serves clients ranging from approximately $30 million to over $1 billion in net worth. The multifamily office integrates investment strategy, tax planning across more than 100 data points, cost segregation for real estate, and exit planning for business owners preparing for transition.
Four multifamily office clients were added within two months. The firm’s retention rate is 99.7%.
What the Numbers Reflect
The growth at Stevens Capital Partners reflects a firm built around specific operating decisions. Client engagement is proactive rather than reactive.
Planning begins earlier in the client lifecycle. Tax strategy is integrated into advisory work rather than handled externally. Investment access extends beyond public markets into structured private opportunities.
At the same time, distribution systems that accelerate growth for many RIAs remain concentrated. Firms without access to those systems rely on direct relationships to scale. Stevens Capital Partners has grown within that constraint.
The firm now operates nationally from Omaha, Nebraska, and Frisco, Texas, serving clients across the full spectrum from emerging investors to ultra-high-net-worth families.
