Samuel Bain

Samuel E. Bain Jr. is a Boston-based wealth manager and investor with more than 40 years of experience. He founded Bainco International Investors in 1987 as an independent wealth management and investment advisory firm serving high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families, and trusts — primarily business owners, executives, and families with multigenerational wealth. He served as CEO and Managing Partner and sat on the boards of several of Bainco's private-equity and early-stage investment partnerships.

Before founding Bainco, Bain was a Senior Vice President at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, serving high-net-worth individuals and institutions, and earlier spent several years as a Chairman's Club wealth advisor at Merrill Lynch. He earned a BS in mathematics from the University of Vermont and a master's degree in systems design and management from George Washington University.

In December 2020, Cerity Partners acquired Bainco International Investors (transaction announced February 2, 2021), bringing roughly $1.1 billion in assets under management and lifting Cerity's total AUM to over $28 billion. Bain became a Partner in Cerity Partners' Boston office, where he continues to advise clients. ECHELON Partners advised Bainco on the transaction.

Beyond his firm, Bain is active in civic and institutional governance. He is a Trustee (now Trustee Emeritus) of the University of Vermont and chaired the UVM Investment Sub-Committee, has served on the Board of Overseers for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the board of St. Johnsbury Academy, and sits on several nonprofit and early-stage venture company boards. In 2016 he received the UVM Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award for his stewardship of the university's investments through difficult financial times.

• Primarily a wealth manager whose firm invests "across public equity and fixed income markets across the globe," with a secondary, hands-on early-stage venture practice.
• Backs early-stage technology companies through seed and Series A–B rounds, often taking a board seat on the companies he funds.
• Small, selective check sizes typical of angel/early-stage participation (disclosed positions in the low six figures to low millions).
• Emphasizes alignment of values and long-term relationships — in his own words on the Cerity deal: "The core values and philosophies of Bainco are parallel to those of Cerity Partners."
• Personal philosophy stresses education and guidance: "Education is the cornerstone of all personal and organizational growth."