Steward Partners Names Keith Taylor Board Chairman as Firm Extends High-Growth Run

New updates have been reported about Steward Partners.

Steward Partners has elevated long-time director Keith Taylor to Chairman of the Board, signaling a new phase in the firm’s governance as it pursues continued national expansion and organic and inorganic growth. Taylor, a Managing Director at The Cynosure Group and Steward director since 2019, succeeds founding Chairman Michael McMahon, who is retiring from his formal role but will remain involved in an honorary capacity to preserve continuity of oversight and strategic counsel. The move consolidates influence from Cynosure, a key strategic capital partner, and brings to the chair role a private equity veteran with senior experience at The Carlyle Group, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan, and a track record investing in asset and wealth management franchises. CEO Jim Gold and President/COO Hy Saporta emphasized that Taylor’s leadership is expected to be central in further modernizing Steward’s platform, supporting advisor recruitment and retention, and scaling operations while maintaining the firm’s employee-owned, partnership culture.

The chair transition comes as Steward Partners is operating from a position of strength, with approximately $46 billion in client assets as of October 2025 and accelerating recognition across industry rankings. The firm recently rose to No. 9 on Barron’s 2025 Top 100 RIA Firms list, up from No. 18 in 2024, and has appeared on Barron’s rankings annually since 2020, underscoring sustained growth and operational scale. Steward has also secured repeat inclusion on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies and was listed 28th on Financial Advisor Magazine’s 2025 Top RIA and AUM rankings, reinforcing its status as a scaled, competitive independent wealth platform. Multiple firm leaders were named to InvestmentNews’ 2025 Hot List, while Steward earned workplace and advisory accolades from InvestmentNews, Washington Business Journal, USA Today, AdvisorHub, and Forbes | SHOOK, with numerous advisors appearing on Best-In-State and Top Advisors lists. Collectively, the governance change and external validation position Steward Partners to press its advisor-first, equity-ownership model as a differentiator in a consolidating RIA and wealth management market, with Taylor now formally responsible for steering board-level strategy, capital alignment, and long-term succession as the firm pursues further national build-out.