Kendall brothers join forces at WealthPath Investment Advisors

After a 32-year career with Arvest Bank, Matt Kendall retired this past spring as president and CEO of the bank’s mortgage division. However, Kendall isn’t bidding farewell to work.

Instead, the 54-year-old is embarking on a new career alongside his younger brother, 48-year-old Clay Kendall, the managing partner at WealthPath Investment Advisors in Rogers. It’s a prominent firm in the Northwest Arkansas financial landscape, promising a bright future for the Kendall brothers.

For the past decade, Matt Kendall said he has been contemplating a shift toward financial planning as a second career. While bidding adieu to Arvest Bank is a mixed emotion, the prospect of working alongside his brother at WealthPath has filled him with excitement, marking a significant “second act” in his professional life.

“Having Matt join our team is a significant milestone for WealthPath,” Clay Kendall said. “His vast experience in finance and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to grow and serve our clients.”

Since joining Arvest in 1992, Matt Kendall worked in various roles, including serving as president and CEO of Waco Title Co., owned by Arvest Bank Group since 2000. The bank named him president and CEO of its mortgage business in 2021 to succeed Steven Plaisance, a close friend who was, like the Kendall boys, born and raised in Rogers.

“Clay and I have always had a strong personal and professional connection,” he said. “Joining him at WealthPath feels like the perfect next chapter in my career.”

WealthPath Investment Advisors is an independent fee-based investment advisory firm with just over $800 million in assets under management (AUM) and a satellite office in Little Rock. Specializing in company retirement plans – which account for about one-third of the firm’s business – and individual investment and insurance needs, WealthPath was established in 2011 by partners who left Morgan Keegan, a national brokerage firm.

Becoming affiliated with California-based retirement and financial planning RIA Pensionmark Financial Group in 2015, WealthPath gained access to extensive resources and technology, expanding its services to a network of over a dozen independent advisory firms nationwide.

Clay Kendall explained that other connections make WealthPath a close-knit office besides the two brothers. Erik Berry is a WealthPath founding partner and a Rogers native, having grown up just two doors down from the Kendall brothers. They’ve known each other their entire lives. Also, Harrison Kendall — Matt’s son and Clay’s nephew—works for the firm in an operations role.

Aside from those critical connections, Matt Kendall said WealthPath has a solid organizational culture, an important aspect he was looking for to finish his career. To underscore the point, he said one of the firm’s clients, living in an assisted living facility, was in despair after being impacted by the May 26 tornado that struck Rogers. The WealthPath operations staff immediately jumped to find her a new home and relocated her.

“That’s just what we do here; we help others,” Matt Kendall said. “No matter the need. That’s not something I’d consider abnormal here. That’s just how they operate.”