Growth Fuels Moneta's Third Kansas City Expansion Since 2020 as $50B RIA Opens New Office

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 30, 2026--

Moneta Group Investment Advisors, LLC (“Moneta”), a 100% partner-owned Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) with more than $50 billion in assets under management (AUM), announced it is moving its Kansas City office to 1957 W. 51st Street, Suite 500, Mission Woods, KS 66205. The new office opened Oct. 29 and will accommodate 25 employees, with capacity for 19 additional employees.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261030111372/en/

Moneta's third office move in the area comes six years after the firm opened its first Kansas City office in 2020 to launch its second expansion market outside of St. Louis. Moneta's Kansas City presence had already doubled in size by 2022, and the new space is designed to support the next phase of growth.

“I grew up here, and when I moved back to help launch this office, the goal was to build something that would last,” said Moneta Partner, Steven Diederich, who is based in Kansas City. “This space reflects how far our team and our clients have come. It’s a place where we can welcome clients, attract great people and keep building the kind of firm Kansas City advisors want to be part of.”

KANSAS CITY: FROM LAUNCH TO LONG-TERM COMMITMENT

Moneta already served Kansas City clients when it chose to open its own office in the market. The firm sent experienced advisors with local roots to launch the office, added Kansas City talent and teams, and has continued to invest as the market has grown. Designed as a smaller-scale version of Moneta’s new St. Louis headquarters at The Plaza, the new Kansas City office combines modern workspaces with dedicated areas for client meetings and collaboration. The space reflects the same emphasis on natural light, hospitality and a polished client experience that shaped Moneta’s St. Louis headquarters.

“When Moneta enters a market, we commit to it. We open our own office, bring in advisors who know the community, add talent and keep investing as the team grows. Kansas City is a clear example of that approach in action, and this new office is the next step. It also reflects what is happening across Moneta as we continue to build a national firm one market at a time,” said Moneta CEO, Eric Kittner.

PART OF A NATIONAL PATTERN

Kansas City is one of several markets where Moneta has followed a similar playbook. The firm first expanded beyond St. Louis in 2019 with a Denver office, which has since grown to a team of more than 30 members, added a second team in 2023 and expanded into Boulder in 2024. Moneta opened offices in Kansas City in 2020, Boston in 2021 and Chicago in 2022, and later expanded into Philadelphia and New Jersey, with Lane Hipple Wealth Management Group joining the firm in September 2025. Over that time, Moneta’s AUM has grown from $14.5 billion at the end of 2015 to more than $50 billion today.

In each market, the pattern is consistent: Moneta enters with its own office and a core group of advisors, then keeps building by growing organically, adding talent and welcoming like-minded teams. Relocating the Kansas City office is the latest example of the firm investing in a market after it enters, following its continued build-out in Colorado.

“Kansas City is where you can see the Moneta model working. Advisors here have the resources of a national firm, including an investment platform built for high-net-worth clients, trust and estate planning, and strong back-office support, while still running their practices as owners. A premier address in Mission Woods tells clients, advisors and firms in this market that we are here for the long term,” said Moneta President and COO, Keith Bowles.

A HOME FOR INDEPENDENT ADVISORS AND FIRMS

For Kansas City advisors and smaller independent RIAs weighing their next step, the new office offers a visible, permanent home for the growth Moneta is building in the market. Moneta is 100% partner-owned, with no outside investors or private equity, and advisors who join become owners of the firm. Moneta’s platform includes an investment approach built around the needs of high-net-worth clients, in-house trust and estate planning services, a Chief Philanthropy Officer, a family education platform and a Partner-in-Training program, so advisors can focus on clients and growth on their own terms.

Moneta has grown through both organic growth and the addition of like-minded teams, and expects to keep doing both in new and existing markets. The firm plans to add 8-10 employees in Kansas City over the next 12–24 months. Advisors and firms interested in joining Moneta can learn more at https://monetagroup.com/careers.

ABOUT MONETA

Moneta Group Investment Advisors, LLC is a partner-owned RIA headquartered in St. Louis, MO, with offices nationwide. Moneta is dedicated to empowering successful families, organizations and foundations to navigate life’s path and protect what they cherish, delivering personalized attention backed by the resources of a national firm. After launching its national growth plan with the 2019 expansion into Denver, the firm added offices in Kansas City, Chicago, Boston, Boulder and Philadelphia. Moneta’s independence from private equity and commitment to partner ownership are unique among RIAs of its size and scale, offering both resources and autonomy to its advisors.

© 2026 Moneta Group Investment Advisors, LLC. All rights reserved. Moneta Group Investment Advisors, LLC is an SEC registered investment advisor and wholly owned subsidiary of Moneta Group, LLC. Registration as an investment advisor does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Moneta is a service mark owned by Moneta Group, LLC. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or buy securities, nor does any statement contained herein represent any specific recommendation. Rankings and/or recognition by unaffiliated rating services and/or publications are not indicative of performance and should not be construed as a guarantee of future investment success, nor should they be construed as a current or past endorsement of Moneta by any of its clients.

The lobby at Moneta's new Kansas City Office in Mission Woods.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The bun is back. Along with the smile and that silky jump shot. JuJu Watkins is returning to college basketball after missing last season while rehabbing an ACL tear.

The star guard who averaged 25.6 points in her first two seasons for Southern California is surrounded by a talent-laden supporting cast as the third-ranked Trojans bid for their first national championship since 1984.

“It's on my mind every day,” Watkins said. “So much anticipation has gone into this year. I want it really badly, but also in a healthy way. I just want to have fun and really enjoy this year.”

Watkins has already envisioned seeing her first basket go in.

“I've had dreams about that every night. I might shed a tear, honestly, I can’t lie,” she said. “That’ll be a really amazing feeling for me.”

Watkins scored 18 points while playing 22 minutes in USC's exhibition win over California recently.

She joins Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson, who averaged 17.9 points last season, in the backcourt for the first time. The duo began developing their chemistry while Watkins was sidelined from the injury she sustained in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. She could be spotted encouraging Davidson on the sideline during games.

“She saw me being hard on myself and I think she saw a little bit of her in me,” Davidson said, "and so she kind of knew what it was like going through that. Being able to build the friendship that we were able to build, it’s a huge blessing.”

Davidson led the Trojans in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks per game last season, when they finished 18-14 overall, 9-9 in the Big Ten and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

USC's stockpile of talent includes guard Saniyah Hall, who had 23 points, six rebounds and five steals in the Trojans' exhibition, as well as forward Sara Okeke, one of three five-star recruits to join the roster.

"They have proven that they’re going to be really impactful players at a high level,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said.

The expectations on Watson are huge, as always. She was named the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year.

“I’m just trying to be myself and peak at the right time,” she said. “I'm definitely a smarter player coming back. I know more about the different reads and was able to study a lot and assert myself in different situations when I wasn't playing.”

Last season, Watkins would set up chairs in the locker room for the team talk on the road. It was one of the small ways she found to be useful without being on the court.

“I was able to take on a leadership role for sure and I can’t say I really owned that role prior to that,” she said. “Being able to do that and also see the game from a different perspective and seeing how can I help my team really helped grow my IQ and leadership skills.”

The Trojans open the season on Monday in Las Vegas against UNLV in the Hall of Fame Series. Their early games include a visit to top-ranked South Carolina on Nov. 15, and facing No. 13 Notre Dame and No. 4 Duke in the Players Era Showcase in Las Vegas in mid-December.

“We’re going to get hit in the mouth,” associate head coach Beth Burns said. “The good thing is when you get hit in the mouth you either cower or you bite back, and we got a lot of people who want to bite.”

That includes Watkins.

“Everybody wants to know the secret, why is JuJu JuJu? The secret is there ain’t no secret, it’s work and focus,” Burns said. “Her choice is to be elite in every facet in her life.”

Last year, Watkins' favorite class was Pete Carroll's “The Game is Life” offered through USC's Marshall School of Business. The former Trojans football coach emphasized his mindset of always competing and it made an impression on her.

"Coming back, I haven’t lost my confidence, I haven’t lost my attention to detail,” Watkins said. “Everything is the same. It’s just I’ve been out for a minute.”

And now she's back, with a will to win that's as strong as ever.

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college basketball coverage here

FILE - Southern California guard Jazzy Davidson shoots a free throw against South Carolina during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File)