Thomas J. Clarke Jr. has been around the wealth management business for a long time, mainly as a news publisher and consultant.
Now, after joining Weiss Group as the chief executive in late July, he gets to have direct hands-on experience in expanding a wealth management firm, where he sees big opportunities for growth.
Weiss Group, of Jupiter, Fla., has three operations, including Weiss Capital Management, a fee-based registered investment advisory firm that oversees $350 million of discretionary and nondiscretionary assets for individuals, businesses, trusts and charities.
Clarke is also a seasoned, self-directed investor, so he knows a good opportunity when he sees one. "If you look at what investors are doing, they are leaving the wire houses," Clarke said in a phone interview last week. "We can fit that bill and then some."
Clarke was CEO of TheStreet.com when, in 2006, he oversaw the digital media organization's purchase of the independent ratings agency Weiss Ratings. But as the economic downturn set in, the company shied away from exploring acquisitions among personal finance and other types of financial services companies, Clarke said. So he left.
Shortly before he left The-Street.com in March, Weiss Group bought back its ratings unit, which generates revenue from retail and institutional subscriptions.
After leaving TheStreet.com, Clarke worked as a consultant to wealth advisory companies, and invested in Internet startups.
"The timing couldn't be better for Tom Clarke to lead our company" said Martin D. Weiss, the company's chairman.
Weiss founded the company in 1971 and will remain chairman and editor of its largest circulation investment newsletter, Money and Markets. Aside from the asset management and the ratings groups, it operates Weiss Research, which publishes investment newsletters.
Clarke said he sees possibilities in Weiss Research, which help investors make good decisions.
"With tools and applications in the marketplace today, investors can be more empowered," Clarke said.
