Under the Radar: How an Ex-Goldman Advisor Quietly Built an $8.5B RIA

Scott Neu, Co-Founder & CEO, Sage Mountain

Former Goldman Sachs advisor Scott Neu shares how he built the $8.5B independent RIA Sage Mountain without acquisitions or traditional marketing, using a high-touch, client-first growth strategy that’s “a mile deep and an inch wide.”

In Summary

Scott Neu spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs building a nearly $3B wealth management business before an unexpected departure led him to co-found Sage Mountain. Eight years later, the independent multi-family office advises on approximately $8.5B for nearly 200 families, with growth driven by referrals rather than acquisitions or traditional marketing.

In this episode, Scott joins Louis Diamond to discuss the service philosophy behind that growth, why he believes independence enables more comprehensive and less conflicted advice, and how Sage Mountain approaches everything from alternative investments to family office services. He also shares candid lessons about getting fired, becoming a CEO, and why, if he were leaving Goldman today, he might choose to join an established independent platform rather than start from scratch.

The Storyline

For Scott Neu, building an $8.5B independent wealth management firm was never about becoming a high-profile industry entrepreneur.

In fact, Scott spent nearly two decades at Goldman Sachs, where he built a business managing close to $3B, and admits he might never have left had Goldman not fired him in 2018.

The experience was humbling. But it also became the catalyst for building Sage Mountain, an independent multi-family office designed around a simple philosophy: Do what’s right for clients, even when it means giving up revenue in the short term.

Today, Sage Mountain advises on approximately $8.5B for just under 200 families, with a team of roughly 40 professionals. Its advisors serve no more than about 35 clients each, delivering the kind of high-touch, comprehensive service Scott describes as being “a mile deep and an inch wide.”

And the firm has achieved that growth without acquisitions, advisor lift-outs, or traditional marketing campaigns.

Scott explains how exceptional service and longstanding relationships have become Sage Mountain’s primary growth engine, why the independent model allows the firm to offer advice and investment access differently, and how his thinking about business ownership has evolved.

He also discusses the challenges of transitioning clients, building an investment platform, learning to delegate, and creating opportunities for other advisors to share in the enterprise’s value.

With Sage Mountain now preparing to recruit established advisory teams, Scott offers a perspective that may surprise advisors considering independence: He believes in the opportunity more than ever, but says building an RIA from scratch may no longer be the smartest way to pursue it.

Topics Covered

• Building an $8.5B independent RIA through organic growth and client referrals
• How Scott’s Navy experience and 18 years at Goldman Sachs shaped his leadership
• What defines a true multi-family office and Sage Mountain’s high-touch service model
• Turning exceptional client service into a sustainable financial advisor growth strategy
• How compensation structures, investment access, and conflicts influence client advice
• The unexpected lessons of being fired from Goldman Sachs
• What Scott learned about client transitions and launching an independent RIA
• Community-sourced alternative investments and leveraging client buying power
• Building enterprise value, delegating leadership, and sharing ownership
• Using AI to expand family office services and give clients back their time
• Sage Mountain’s next growth phase through advisor recruitment
• Why joining an established RIA platform may be preferable to starting from scratch

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