ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 22, 2024--
Homrich Berg (HB), a leading Atlanta-based RIA serving families and investors across the country from its offices in the Southeast, welcomes Andrew Page as Head of Corporate Development. HB created this new position to add a leader with Page’s dealmaking experience, signaling the $16 billion enterprise firm’s continuing focus on growth by acquisition.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240417052994/en/
With a foundation in deal execution, business development, and strategic advisement in the wealth management industry, Page comes to HB to focus on fostering relationships with RIA firms and advisor teams which lead to partnerships aligning with the firm’s values. Prior to joining Homrich Berg, Page was a Director and Partner at Ancora Holdings Group where he led their M&A efforts and other strategic initiatives. He previously was a member of the investment team at Focus Financial Partners focused on the financial services industry leading all phases of the deal process from sourcing to execution and relationship management.
“Homrich Berg planted its flag 35 years ago in fee-only, fiduciary service and has built a reputation as one of the industry’s leading firms. Its commitment to holistic client service is a powerful starting point for any acquisition or partnership,” Page said. “The management team here is excellent, and HB’s thoughtful approach to growth creates a strong foundation for future strategic acquisitions.”
Page’s appointment as Head of Corporate Development comes as strong M&A activity in the RIA industry continues to defy headwinds. In the current deal climate, advisors seek strategic partners that see eye-to-eye on client service, long-term sustainability, and cultural alignment.
“We knew we needed a seasoned leader like Andrew, who understands both the M&A marketplace and the type of professionals who will align closely with HB,” said Thomas Carroll, President and CEO of Homrich Berg. “He joins us at an important point in our history as we continue to seek firms and advisors who are aligned with our values and value the benefits of joining our firm.”
This hire comes on the heels of Michael A. Woocher joining HB’s executive team as Chief Advisory Officer with a dedicated focus on leading advisors and client experience.
About Homrich Berg
Founded in 1989, Atlanta-based Homrich Berg is a national independent wealth management firm that provides fiduciary, fee-only investment management and financial planning services, serving as the leader of the financial team for our clients, including high-net-worth individuals, families, and not-for-profits. Homrich Berg manages over $16 billion for more than 3,500 family relationships nationwide. This document is not a recommendation.
Andrew Page, Head of Corporate Development at Homrich Berg (Photo: Business Wire)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — `United Methodist delegates on Friday repealed their church’s longstanding ban on the celebrations of same-sex marriages or unions by its clergy and in its churches.
The action marked the final major reversal of a collection of LGBTQ bans and disapprovals that have been embedded throughout the laws and social teachings of the United Methodist Church over the previous half-century.
The 447-233 vote by the UMC's General Conference came one day after delegates overwhelmingly voted to repeal a 52-year-old declaration that the practice of homosexuality is "incompatible with Christian teaching” and two days after they repealed the denomination's ban on LGBTQ clergy.
It’s the UMC’s first legislative gathering since 2019, one that featured its most progressive slate of delegates in memory following the departure of more than 7,600 mostly conservative congregations in the United States because it essentially stopped enforcing its bans on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ ordination.
The delegates voted to repeal a section in their Book of Discipline, or church law, that states: “Ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches.”
Clergy will neither be required nor prohibited from performing any marriage, according to existing law that the conference affirmed with minor revisions Friday.
On Thursday, delegates approved Revised Social Principles, or statements of the church's values. In addition to removing the language about homosexuality being “incompatible with Christian teaching," that revision also defined marriage as a covenant between two adults, without limiting it to heterosexual couples, as the previous version had done.
But while Social Principles are non-binding, the clause removed on Friday had the force of law.
Regional conferences outside the United States have the ability to set their own rules, however, so churches in Africa and elsewhere with more conservative views on sexuality could retain bans on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy. A pending amendment to the church constitution would also enable the U.S. region to make such adaptations.
The change doesn’t mandate or even explicitly affirm same-sex marriages. But it removes their prohibition. It takes effect Saturday following the close of General Conference.
The Rev. Rebecca Girrell of Vermont told fellow delegates that she regretted having initially declined a request to perform a same-sex marriage because of church rules. “I promised I would never betray my heart or my call to offer ministry and grace to all persons again,” she said.
Later, she said she did defy church rules and performed the same-sex wedding for two military servicemen before their deployment. “You will never convince me that that was wrong,” she said.
But Samuel Cole from Liberia urged the conference not to approve the measure, saying it would not be accepted in other parts of the world and adding that only a man and a woman can produce children.
It’s the UMC’s first legislative gathering since 2019, one that features its most progressive slate of delegates in memory due to the departure of many conservatives from the denomination. More than 7,600 mostly conservative congregations in the United States — one quarter of the denomination’s American total — disaffiliated because the UMC essentially stopped enforcing its bans on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ ordination.
A temporary window enabled American churches to leave with their properties, normally held by the denomination, under more favorable than normal terms. While the conference voted against extending that window to international churches, the conference votes could still prompt departures of some international churches through different means — particularly in Africa, where conservative sexual values prevail and where same-sex activity is criminalized in some countries.
Separately, the General Conference on Friday removed language making it a chargeable offense for clergy to be a “self-avowed practicing homosexual” or perform same-sex marriages — similar to previous repeals but affecting a different part of church law. There was some debate because the measure also removed other chargeable offenses, such as being unfaithful in marriage, but proponents said there are other parts of the Book of Discipline that allow the church to discipline ministers for immorality.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
United Methodist delegates listen to a debate during their General Conference meeting Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)
The Rev. David Meredith, left, and the Rev. Austin Adkinson sing during a gathering of those in the LGBTQ community and their allies outside the Charlotte Convention Center, in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, May 2, 2024. They were celebrating after the General Conference of the United Methodist Church voted to remove the denomination's 52-year-old social teaching that deemed homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching." (AP Photo/Peter Smith)
