Key Takeaways
- • True North Advisors, a Dallas-based founder-led RIA with over $5.18B in AUM as of 6/30/25, appointed Jeff Welday as Chief Development Officer, Alternative Investments, a newly created role.
- • Welday will lead the development and expansion of Western Alternative Strategies (WAS), the firm's diversified alternative and private markets platform, which manages $1.7B in AUM as of 6/30/25.
- • The platform is shifting from serving True North's multi-family office clients to a broader base of RIAs, high-net-worth individuals, and private market allocators, with a particular emphasis on the private wealth channel.
- • Welday will drive marketing, sales strategy, and product development, working alongside True North's in-house investment team led by CIO Dhruv Maniktala.
Summary
True North Advisors, a nationally recognized, founder-led registered investment advisor headquartered in Dallas, Texas, announced the appointment of Jeff Welday as Chief Development Officer, Alternative Investments, according to a Business Wire release dated August 27, 2025. The role is newly created and is focused on the ongoing development and expansion of Western Alternative Strategies ("WAS"), the firm's diversified alternative and private markets platform.
WAS was originally built to serve True North's multi-family office clients. According to the company, the platform now supports a broader network of RIAs, high-net-worth individuals, and other private market capital allocators. Welday will focus on extending the platform's reach into new distribution channels, with an emphasis on the private wealth segment, and will work closely with True North's in-house investment team to drive marketing, sales strategy, and product development.
According to the release, WAS oversees $1.7B in assets under management as of June 30, 2025, spanning private equity, venture capital, private credit, hedge funds, and other vehicles. The platform offers access to direct investments, primary and secondary funds, and hedge funds, in both evergreen and closed-end structures. True North, which reports more than $5.18B in AUM as of the same date, has invested in private markets and hedge funds for more than 20 years. The WAS investment team is described as having over 130 years of combined public and private market experience.
CEO and Co-Founder Scott Wood said Welday's leadership would be "instrumental in delivering institutional-quality alternative investments through a consultative, turnkey platform designed for RIAs and individual investors." CIO Dhruv Maniktala said the firm is "excited to see our platform gaining momentum outside our existing client base." Welday, who described the opportunity as a rare chance to build on a growing platform, said he looks forward to expanding access to institutional-quality solutions for RIAs and individual investors.
WAS was originally built to serve True North's multi-family office clients. According to the company, the platform now supports a broader network of RIAs, high-net-worth individuals, and other private market capital allocators. Welday will focus on extending the platform's reach into new distribution channels, with an emphasis on the private wealth segment, and will work closely with True North's in-house investment team to drive marketing, sales strategy, and product development.
According to the release, WAS oversees $1.7B in assets under management as of June 30, 2025, spanning private equity, venture capital, private credit, hedge funds, and other vehicles. The platform offers access to direct investments, primary and secondary funds, and hedge funds, in both evergreen and closed-end structures. True North, which reports more than $5.18B in AUM as of the same date, has invested in private markets and hedge funds for more than 20 years. The WAS investment team is described as having over 130 years of combined public and private market experience.
CEO and Co-Founder Scott Wood said Welday's leadership would be "instrumental in delivering institutional-quality alternative investments through a consultative, turnkey platform designed for RIAs and individual investors." CIO Dhruv Maniktala said the firm is "excited to see our platform gaining momentum outside our existing client base." Welday, who described the opportunity as a rare chance to build on a growing platform, said he looks forward to expanding access to institutional-quality solutions for RIAs and individual investors.
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