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B. Riley Financial
B. Riley Financial is a publicly traded diversified financial services firm combining investment banking, asset management, and principal investing.
B. Riley Financial
B. Riley Financial traces its roots to 1972, when it operated as a West Coast brokerage. Bryant Riley joined in the 1990s and led a transformation into a publicly traded financial services firm (NASDAQ: RILY) that today operates through subsidiaries including B. Riley Securities, B. Riley Wealth Management, and B. Riley Asset Management. The firm deploys capital across asset classes: investment banking (M&A advisory, equity and debt underwriting), asset management (funds and managed accounts), direct lending, and principal investing — taking positions in companies across technology, consumer, industrials, healthcare, real estate, and energy. B. Riley often co-invests in its own deals and holds stakes in portfolio companies such as National Cinemedia and Toys "R" Us (per SEC filings, 2024). Geographic focus is North America, with additional offices in New York, Boston, Dallas, Chicago, and San Francisco. Employee count as of public filings exceeds 2,000 professionals across divisions. The firm's public structure requires financial disclosure: B. Riley Financial reports quarterly earnings under SEC rules (per SEC, 2024). In 2024, the firm faced scrutiny from the SEC over certain transactions, though ongoing operations continue across all business units (per financial press, 2024). What distinguishes B. Riley is its publicly traded structure — among the few diversified financial services firms that combine investment banking, asset management, and a proprietary balance sheet under a single public parent. This structure allows it to underwrite deals and take principal positions simultaneously, a flexibility that pure investment banks or asset managers lack.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1972
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Los Angeles
Corporate office
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Additional offices
New York · Boston · Dallas · Chicago · San Francisco
Principals
Bryant Riley
Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does B. Riley Financial's public structure affect its investment model?
Being publicly traded (NASDAQ: RILY) means B. Riley must disclose financials quarterly under SEC rules, providing transparency not common among private family offices. The public structure also allows the firm to use its own balance sheet for principal investing alongside client capital (per SEC filings, 2024).
What investment stages does B. Riley Financial target?
B. Riley operates across the capital structure — from early-stage growth equity to buyouts and direct lending, as well as secondary market trading. It also underwrites IPOs and follow-on offerings, taking principal positions in some deals (per public filings, 2024).
Does B. Riley Financial participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
B. Riley runs its own asset management funds and also makes direct principal investments from the parent company's balance sheet. The asset management division manages pooled vehicles across credit, equity, and alternative strategies (per SEC reports, 2024).
What sectors does B. Riley Financial explicitly avoid?
The firm does not publicly disclose avoidance sectors, but its core focus on technology, healthcare, consumer, industrials, real estate, and energy suggests it operates broadly across the economy (per corporate website, 2024). No explicit exclusions are documented.
How is B. Riley Financial's wealth management business integrated with its investment bank?
B. Riley Wealth Management serves high-net-worth clients and institutions, offering advisory, brokerage, and managed account services. It often co-invests with the firm's principal investing arm, creating cross-referral opportunities between wealth and corporate finance (per public filings, 2024).
Who runs investment decisions at B. Riley Financial?
Bryant Riley serves as Chairman and Co-CEO, overseeing overall strategy. Key investment decisions are distributed across business heads: the investment bank, asset management, and wealth management each maintain separate investment committees (per corporate disclosures, 2024).
Does B. Riley Financial maintain philanthropic structures?
The firm does not publicly disclose a separate foundation. As a publicly traded company, corporate giving is typically disclosed in annual reports; no large-scale philanthropic entity is documented (per public records, 2024).
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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