Shannon M. Kennedy has joined Hedgia as Chair of the Advisory Board. She spent 38 years in Fortune 500 financial services, most recently as CEO of BMO Wealth Management U.S. The scale of that business is worth stating plainly.
The direction mattered as much as the size. Under Kennedy, Return on Equity rose from 10% to 14%, the business exceeded its Net Income After Tax targets, and retail cross selling added more than $1 billion in new investment assets. She shared the news in her announcement on LinkedIn.
Three institutions, 38 years
Kennedy's career runs through three of the most prominent names in wealth management. At BMO she also served as Board Chair of BMO Delaware Trust and as Global President of BMO Family Office, overseeing $22 billion in AUM. Before that she was President of U.S. Markets at BNY Mellon Wealth Management and held senior leadership roles at The Northern Trust Company.
BMO
NYSE: BMO- CEO, BMO Wealth Management U.S.
- Board Chair, BMO Delaware Trust
- Global President, BMO Family Office ($22 billion AUM)
BNY Mellon
NYSE: BK- President of U.S. Markets, BNY Mellon Wealth Management
The Northern Trust Company
NASDAQ: NTRS- Senior leadership roles
An SEC Qualified Financial Expert in the chair
Kennedy is an SEC Qualified Financial Expert and has spent her career providing governance and expertise on critical regulatory matters to the SEC and OCC. American Banker named her one of the Most Powerful Women in Banking every year from 2022 to 2024.
American Banker, Most Powerful Women in Banking
“Shannon's decades of leadership at the highest levels of wealth management bring unmatched credibility and insight to Hedgia. Her expertise in regulatory compliance, business building, and governance will be instrumental as we continue to make hedge fund creation accessible to more fund managers.”
The stack she now advises
Hedgia's product is regulated work. The platform forms the fund LLC, prepares the PPM, LPA, and subscription documents, files Form D and state Blue Sky notices, runs investor onboarding and KYC, and opens the fund's bank account through its partnership with Axos Bank, a federally chartered FDIC member with over $20 billion in assets.
Kennedy's appointment puts that work in front of someone who ran it at institutional scale. Hedgia is live in 8 states, supports up to 5 funds per account and up to 100 investors per fund, and keeps adding manager tools like branded investor portals. The compliance and governance questions behind each of those moves now get a second look from someone who answered them at a $66 billion institution.