Tower Bridge Advisors

Tower Bridge Advisors Uses AI to Free Up Expertise for Clients and Growth

Tower Bridge Advisors is a Philadelphia-area wealth management firm handling high-net-worth portfolios for individuals and select institutions, as well as trust and endowment accounts. Its business is built around customized portfolios, long-term relationships, and highly personalized service.

The platform Tower Bridge had relied on for 25 years was struggling to keep pace as the firm and its data grew. “It became clunky. Reporting became more difficult and just tracking the sea of data became more difficult,” says Christopher Crooks, chief investment officer at Tower Bridge Advisors.

The cost was more than just the operational friction that it created. Nicholas Filippo, principal and chief marketing officer, was concerned with the expertise that was being tied up in operational tasks. “Our administrative team is very knowledgeable. Having them do tasks that could be automated is just a waste of their time,” says Nicholas. “What I would like to do more of is be out more. The more you’re out talking to people, driving new business, that’s always a good thing.”

Tower Bridge began evaluating platforms that could help support the firm through its next phase of growth. They looked at a number of systems in search of a partner who could help them leverage AI and free teams to focus on providing the personalized service that defined the firm. “We wanted to be involved and partnered with a firm that was looking to the future, investing in their product and moving forward with AI,” says Jeffrey Kachel, CFO and CTO. “We wanted to make one move and know that we had selected a system that could carry us into the future and scale with us as we added accounts and as our firm grows.”

During its evaluation, Tower Bridge focused on the capabilities that would have an immediate effect on the business and the client experience. Ridgeline stood out because it connected those priorities in one platform.

“We felt that Ridgeline cut through some of the noise to really get to what mattered to us: an efficient trading platform, artificial intelligence availability and capabilities, and a customer portal interaction that we felt the client would appreciate,” says Christopher.

That foundation gives Tower Bridge a practical way to put automation and AI to work. Repetitive administrative tasks can be handled more efficiently, while experienced professionals spend more of their time applying judgment, building relationships, and pursuing new business. 

The team can add managers and portfolios without rebuilding its operating model around every new layer of complexity, while working in a system designed to be current, efficient, and scalable for the people who use it every day.

“For us, it's all about client service,” says Christopher. “They may not see the technology underlying our decisions, but they can see the results and Ridgeline helps us to do that.”

About Ridgeline

Ridgeline is the AI-native investment management platform built on the idea that human talent is too valuable to do the work that technology could handle. With over $750B in assets committed to the platform, Ridgeline unifies the front, middle, and back office on a single, real-time platform so routine work happens quietly in the background. Ridgeline has teams in New York, the Bay Area, Reno, and Dublin, and has been recognized by Forbes as a "Best Startup Employer," by Global Financial Market Review for "Best Use of AI in Finance," and by The Software Report as a "Top 100 Software Company." Learn more at ridgeline.ai.

‍