David Blain, CFA, CEO of BlueSky Wealth Advisors, has spent nearly three decades building a firm that is fiercely client centric and dedicated to being true fiduciaries to successful families. Today, with more than $1 billion in assets under management, that commitment is evidenced by the growing number of client families who trust David and his team with their financial futures.
So, when he began searching for a partner to help ensure the long-term success of BlueSky and its clients, protecting his firm’s culture and legacy was paramount. David and his team met with more than 50 firms, but it was Aspen, and its unique commitment to be a permanent home for successful independent RIAs, that stood out from the rest.
We recently sat down with David to delve into his decision-making process and why he ultimately chose Aspen to carry on his legacy.
David, talk us through your decision-making process when you began exploring firms to partner with. What were the “must haves”? What were the “non-negotiables”?
We treated this like one of our client plans. We started with a checklist that answered one question: what must remain true for our clients and our people? The must-haves were clear. We had to preserve the BlueSky name and brand, protect our client-first fiduciary standard, and keep the highly personalized, holistic advice model our clients expect. We also wanted the ability to reward our team financially, scale our unique model, and have a partner who would let us run the business. What we didn’t want was equally simple. No deal that turned advisors into salespeople or AUM-gathering robots. No structure that diluted client trust. No surprise communications for clients or staff.
This was not a quick decision. Over a five-year period, we spoke with more than 50 firms, conducted deep due diligence on a smaller subset, and even signed an LOI with one firm before walking away after learning more. Frankly, the process was exhausting, but it needed to be methodical. Every option was judged against the same standard: Will partnering with this company help BlueSky serve clients better without changing who we are?
Why did you eventually decide to partner with Aspen?
Aspen matched the checklist in three practical ways. First, Aspen’s structure is a holding company model, not an RIA operator looking to run your firm. With that configuration, we were able to retain the BlueSky name and our operational independence while gaining access to valuable resources. The second was non-interference. From the beginning, Aspen’s leadership made it clear that they would not run our day-to-day business. However, they offered the help we actually wanted, primarily marketing and capital, but left operational control with BlueSky. Third, on the checklist were practical protections and accountability. Aspen’s concept is to provide a permanent home for RIAs. Contained in this concept is the promise that BlueSky will not be sold or otherwise subject to the whiplash of traditional private equity-owned firms. This protects our clients and our team while providing a stable platform for growth and prosperity. Simply put, Aspen gave us an arrangement that protected what we built while delivering additional capabilities we want.
BlueSky has achieved impressive growth over the last 27 years because of your highly personalized, holistic approach to financial advice. How will Aspen support that growth trajectory?
We already run a high-functioning operation, and our advisors are doing what they should: serving clients, not doing administrative work. What Aspen adds is capital and connections. They bring an experienced M&A team, which will allow us to expand thoughtfully through acquisitions of like-minded firms. They can also assist in recruiting top talent that we will certainly need as we scale. Aspen itself has a group of proven operators, specialists, as well as relationships we can leverage to accelerate growth all, without squeezing us into a conforming model, as so many aggregators prefer.
Just as important, Aspen allows us to keep the BlueSky name and remain independent in how we run the business. That matters because our growth has always come from trust and a family office-style approach in which advisors are experts and stewards, not salespeople. Aspen’s role is to help us scale our unique model nationally through acquisitions, introductions to key vendors and people, and the implementation of a high-quality digital marketing program. While I’d like to think I can do this forever, it’s not the way life works, and so having Aspen as a partner will also support succession and second-generation leadership development as I eventually step away from day-to-day operations.
Let’s talk about firm culture. How important was it to you to partner with a firm that respects and reflects your culture? Do you believe you’ve found that with Aspen?
Culture was the decisive factor because it shapes how a firm operates on the inside and gives BlueSky the best chance of success across future generations of clients, technology, and people. We are explicit about what we mean by culture. It starts with four core values that govern how we act and how we treat people: respect, integrity, service, and knowledge.
We go further and define the behaviors we expect in the real world: effective, innovative, passionate, courageous, transparent, and humble. We also have clear operating principles, not slogans. We believe freedom and responsibility are two sides of the same coin, and we want leaders, not micromanagers, with a unified vision and decentralized execution.
That is the filter I used to evaluate partners. Aspen feels aligned because they respect that BlueSky has built a high-performing culture on purpose and are not trying to replace it. They are set up to let us keep the BlueSky name, maintain our standards, and continue running the business while we scale the mission.
Finally, what does the future look like for BlueSky? Where do you envision your firm and team in 10 or 20 years?
The world changes fast in the 21st Century, so the future is clearly unknown, but my vision is that in 10 years BlueSky will be a larger national firm known for a family office style of advice, with advisors serving as expert stewards, not salespeople. We will continue to provide deeper specialization, clearer succession, and a stronger national brand while keeping long-term client relationships at the center. Looking out 20 years, I want BlueSky to be the premier national brand of non-AUM advisory-based services, known for steady stewardship. We will have changed how wealthy families in America view and receive financial services.
No matter what the next 20 years bring, whether it is AI, new tools, new investment environments, or political and regulatory shifts, BlueSky’s posture is to lead, not follow. Our culture document is explicit that agility matters, including the ability to change, adapt, learn, unlearn, and relearn. It also makes the point that culture is what gives BlueSky the best chance of success across future generations of clients, technology, and people, and that a culture that supports results and innovation ensures growth rather than reliance on any single process or technique.
That is exactly how we intend to operate: keep our core values and client-first standard constant and continually improve our methods as the world changes. My role in that transition is to steward the brand and values, move into a chairman role where I can spread BlueSky nationally, and empower the next generation to run the firm day to day. Aspen’s role is to provide the capital and access to people who can help us expand without losing BlueSky’s identity.
Contact us to learn more about partnering with Aspen.
