Associate – Healthcare

Cresset welcomes $1.1 billion advisory team to New York and L.A. Offices. Nick Smith and Chris Tiano previously served as Directors with Lazard Wealth NEW YORK - July 21, 2026 - Cresset announced today that Chris Tiano and Nick Smith have joined the firm as Managing Directors, Wealth Advisors in Cresset's Los Angeles and New York offices, respectively. Tiano and Smith previously served as Directors for Lazard Wealth, where they oversaw $1.1 billion in assets under advisement. Chris Tiano Tiano works closely with business owners and entrepreneurs whose wealth is concentrated in the companies they've built. He has extensive experience guiding clients through the pivotal moments that define their financial lives, from scaling a business to a liquidity event and the complexity that follows, including designing sophisticated portfolios across public and private markets and coordinating with trust and estate attorneys and CPAs on tax planning, wealth transfer, liquidity needs, and long-term preservation of capital. "Cresset has built a platform that truly understands the complexities entrepreneurs, business owners, and multigenerational families face as their wealth evolves," Tiano said. "Cresset brings together sophisticated investment management, private market opportunities, and comprehensive planning capabilities all under one roof. I'm excited to join a team that shares my commitment to delivering highly personalized advice and helping clients navigate life's most important financial decisions with confidence." Prior to joining Cresset, Tiano advised individuals, families, and non-profit institutions at Lazard Wealth, Focus Financial Partners, and Glenmede Trust Company, delivering customized investment and financial planning solutions. Tiano earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Columbia University. Nick Smith For the past 15 years, Smith has advised ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families, and institutional clients on investment management, estate planning, wealth transfer, and tax strategy. He has extensive experience working with both established multigenerational families and ambitious individuals navigating pivotal moments of wealth creation. "Wealth management is ultimately about great relationships built on trust, transparency, and a genuine understanding of what matters most to each client," Smith said. "That is exactly what Cresset delivers each and every day through the incredible depth of its family office team. I'm excited and honored to have access to such a robust platform that can serve clients more holistically how and where they want to be served." Prior to joining Cresset, Smith served as a Director and Portfolio & Wealth Advisor at Lazard Wealth, where he advised ultra-high-net-worth and institutional clients. Before that, he was a Senior Relationship Manager at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, delivering customized investment and financial planning solutions to high- and ultra-high-net-worth clients. He built the foundation of his career as a Client Advisor at Bessemer Trust and in an associate role at Fiduciary Trust Company International. Smith earned an MBA from Cornell University's S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Denison University, as well as the Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA) designation. "Nick and Chris exemplify the high caliber of advisor we seek to attract to Cresset - deeply experienced professionals who put clients at the center of everything they do," said Cresset CEO Susie Cranston. "Their expertise serving entrepreneurs, business owners, and multigenerational families aligns perfectly with our mission to deliver truly comprehensive, integrated wealth management. We are thrilled to welcome them to Cresset and look forward to supporting their continued success as they help clients navigate increasingly complex financial lives." Cresset's independent, employee- and client-owned multi-family office model integrates investment advisory, private markets access, trust services, tax strategy, family governance, and other family office capabilities to provide coordinated, long-term guidance. As families navigate liquidity events, concentrated positions, and generational wealth transfer, demand continues to grow for integrated advice that coordinates investment strategy, planning, and family office services under one aligned platform. *Disclosures related to awards, recognitions, and rankings available here. Forbes Top RIA Firms (issued 10.2025). Based on data from April of the prior year through March of the award year. Rankings are determined by SHOOK Research using a proprietary methodology that considers qualitative and quantitative factors. Barron's Top 100 RIA Firms (issued 09.2025). Based on data from July of the prior year through June of the award year. Rankings are determined using a proprietary methodology that considers qualitative and quantitative factors. Cresset paid a licensing fee to use the Forbes and Barron's award logos.

Incyte pays $1.25 billion to enter bleeding disorders with Vega acquisition. June 26, 2026 50 views 0 Incyte agreed on June 8 to acquire Vega Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Star Therapeutics, for $1.25 billion upfront, with up to $750 million more payable on sales milestones, for total potential consideration of up to $2.0 billion. The deal carries the Wilmington, Delaware-based drug company into inherited bleeding disorders, a disease area its existing portfolio does not address. Lazard advised Incyte. Evercore and Morgan Stanley advised Star Therapeutics. The transaction is structured as an equity acquisition and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, pending Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act review. Incyte expects to record an R&D charge of approximately $1.25 billion tied to the deal. Armistice Capital holds a position in Incyte among a broad institutional shareholder base. The Asset: VGA039 in Phase 3 The acquisition centers on VGA039, an investigational monoclonal antibody that targets Protein S to restore the body's clotting capacity. By promoting platelet attachment and enhancing fibrin deposition, VGA039 aims to correct the hemostatic deficiency in patients whose von Willebrand factor is low or dysfunctional. Von Willebrand disease is the most common inherited bleeding disorder in the United States, with roughly 135,000 diagnosed cases. Current prophylactic care for more severe presentations often requires two to three intravenous infusions each week. VGA039 is designed for subcutaneous administration on a once-monthly dosing schedule, a profile that could substantially reduce treatment burden for patients managing a lifelong condition. The drug is in Phase 3 development in the VIVID-6 study and carries Breakthrough Therapy, Fast Track, orphan drug, and rare pediatric disease designations from the FDA. Bill Meury, Incyte's chief executive, called VGA039 "a first-in-class, Phase 3 asset with a manageable development path" and said it fits directly into Incyte's goal of building a diversified growth company. Incyte's Financial Position Before the Deal Incyte entered the Vega negotiation from a position of strengthening fundamentals. First-quarter 2026 revenue reached $1.27 billion, up 21 percent year over year, with total net sales of $1.10 billion. Jakafi, the myelofibrosis drug that has anchored the company's business for years, posted net sales of $758 million for the quarter. Opzelura cream added $143 million. The hematology and oncology portfolio more than doubled to $204 million on demand for newer products including Niktimvo, Monjuvi, and Zynyz. GAAP net income reached $303 million in the first quarter. Incyte ended the period with $4.0 billion in cash and reaffirmed full-year net sales guidance of $4.77 billion to $4.94 billion. Newer medicines have driven much of the recent growth. Niktimvo, which treats chronic graft-versus-host disease, generated $55 million in first-quarter sales. Monjuvi, the lymphoma therapy, added $49 million. Zynyz, cleared for squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal and recently approved in Europe for a second indication, contributed $41 million. Building Around Jakafi's Eventual Loss of Exclusivity Jakafi's patent situation has shaped Incyte's planning for several years. The company has pursued four anticipated product approvals and launches over the next 12 months, and in April it reported positive Phase 3 results for povorcitinib in nonsegmental vitiligo alongside an FDA acceptance of the drug's application in hidradenitis suppurativa. An extended-release formulation of Jakafi is also under FDA review with a potential launch expected around mid-year. VGA039 slots into that pipeline as a longer-dated hematology asset rather than a near-term contributor. Hematology, oncology, and inflammation and autoimmunity are the three franchises Incyte has named as its core areas, and VGA039 deepens the first of those at a Phase 3 stage where the drug's mechanism has been validated even as regulatory risk remains. The acquisition adds a program that could generate revenue well beyond Jakafi's exclusivity window, which is the planning horizon Incyte has been working toward. Institutional holders tracking Incyte will ultimately judge the Vega deal against the company's broader portfolio-building effort rather than against the activity of any single institutional participant.