Profile
“Being true to who we are is key; we are purely a referral-based business. There is zero marketing or advertising”
Adam Rakowski,
Ortus Financial
As founder and CEO of Destiny Wealth Partners, Thomas Ruggie is an innovator, entrepreneur, and thought leader who believes in doing the right thing, never accepting complacency, and staying ahead of the curve.
An independent RIA, Destiny Wealth Partners manages more than $1.2 billion in assets. Under its umbrella are Destiny Family Office, Ruggie Wealth Management, and Nichols Wealth Partners.
2024 was a landmark year for Ruggie and his firms. As market volatility, geopolitical instability, and uncertain economic conditions brought forth unforeseen turbulence, he saw the importance of passionately advocating on behalf of clients.
“Many of these individuals and families have been forced to compromise in the investment marketplace,” he says. “Prohibitive fees, liquidity timelines, or payouts are often difficult obstacles to overcome. We are trying to stay ahead of the curve in helping to democratize private investments, offering unique and privileged institutional-caliber alternative, direct and co-investment platforms with broad manager access to eligible qualified purchasers.”
To do so, Ruggie is working with First Trust Capital Management, Quiet Capital, Blackstone, Point72 Ventures, Hedosophia, and others to expand his firms’ sphere of investments, while providing access to highly sought-after private, direct, or co-investment opportunities in industry innovators and disruptors, including Stripe, Reddit, SpaceX, Anduril, Raisin, and Hipgnosis.
Ruggie believes the “why” of what they do is at the heart of the “what,” and lies deep within the answers to two questions: What challenges are they going to help clients solve, and what will they create with and for them?
“We believe that providing access to top-line service and capabilities allows our clients to enjoy more of their own time embracing their unique potential, transforming their worlds, and achieving their destiny. This requires intellectual capital and emotional intelligence to be agile, solve problems, and help simplify the complexities inherent in the unique challenges they face,” he explains.
Destiny Wealth Partners’ firms have been early adopters in many areas pertaining to the financial industry. They were early to fee-based planning, early to transition to an RIA-only platform, early to adopt a multi-family office, and early to jump heavily into alternative and direct investments.
“In the past 12 months, we’ve evaluated private equity investments into our firm, which we ultimately decided against, developed a unique structured product, transitioned our family office clients to a new custodial relationship with Goldman Sachs. We’ve expanded our direct investment opportunities, developed a banking relationship to assist our clients with their banking needs, offered a legal planning platform to clients, and decided to transition our white-labeled trust company to another firm,” Ruggie says.
“I’m just simply trying to make things better, searching for improvements in all aspects of our business, creating a better experience for our clients, and never letting complacency take the place of forward thinking. I believe our willingness to innovate may be aspirational and inspirational to like-minded industry professionals. It may just be the way I’m wired, but I love the capacity that leaders in this industry have to share their best ideas with each other, to try to make us all better.”
2100 Lake Eustis Dr., Tavares, FL 32778
352 343 2700
tom@destiny familyoffice.com
linkedin.com/in/tomruggie
destinywealthpartners.com
Thomas Ruggie,
ChFC®, CFP®
Founder and CEO
Destiny Wealth Partners
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Milestones
“You can’t control the outcome, but you can always control what version of you turns up every day”
Adam Rakowski,
Ortus Financial
1991
1995
2014
2017
2024
Began his financial advisory career
1991
Founded Ruggie Wealth Management
1995
Established independent RIA that would become Destiny Wealth Partners, which currently manages over $1.2 billion of assets
2014
Founded Destiny Family Office, which is experiencing its best year asset-wise and percentage-wise
2017
InvestmentNews Awards 2024 RIA “Team of the Year” (10 or More Advisors), 7X Forbes/Shook Research Best-in-State Wealth Advisors (#1 N Florida), 12X Barron’s Top 1200 Financial Advisors, Forbes Top 250 RIA Firms (#4 Florida), 2024 ThinkAdvisor Luminaries Award Finalist “Thought Leader of the Year,” 12X Financial Advisor Magazine Top RIAs, 3X Family Wealth Report Awards Finalist, 9X Forbes Finance Council
2024
Milestones
Milestones
ELITE WOMEN 2024 JUDGE
“You can’t control the outcome, but you can always control what version of you turns up every day,” he says.
While at the helm of a rapidly growing business and a family that includes two young children at home, Rakowski has learned to manage what he calls a “never-ending list of commitments” that consists of a new team member each month, a new interstate office and two to three new referral partners monthly.
“Our business is a human business, so investing genuine time in every person can be draining on a personal level. Balancing it all is a challenge,” he says. “Simply put, do what you say you will do, and act at all times with honesty and integrity, being respectful and empathetic. The financial outcomes are a byproduct of the human interactions we have.”
Attracting, retaining and delivering exceptional client outcomes and service starts with a sincere interest in their journey and remaining relevant to them as their lives and needs evolve, notes Rakowski. He points out that he and his team put in most of the work upfront in building meaningful relationships, which is a testament to its 99% client retention rate.
He says, “We are clear in the types of clients we work best with and our value proposition. We also look for a cultural alignment with all of our referral partners, and we are acutely aware of our strengths and how different we are from our industry peers.”
Rakowski recently opened a Queensland business and plans a foot in every other capital city. He strives to establish the brokerage as a national business with on-the-ground representation in every state by the end of 2025.