Marty Bicknell
About Marty Bicknell
Marty Bicknell is the founder and CEO of Mariner Wealth Advisors, based in the Kansas City area. He founded Mariner in 2006 with seven others. He holds a bachelor's degree from Pittsburg State University in Kansas. PitchBook also lists him as CEO of Mariner Holdings and as a board member at the KU Advancement Board for the University of Kansas Medical Center and at MRIGlobal.
He is also a partner at Flyover Capital, a venture firm that invests in startups outside the U.S. coastal tech hubs. His family office is called 1248.
Tracxn lists seven portfolio companies for Bicknell, mostly in the United States and in sectors such as enterprise applications and fintech. The dated rounds it shows are Lifeworks (angel round, November 2020), Eaglebrook (Series A, January 2022), Bento Engine (seed, June 2022) and Altruist (Series D, April 2023). CB Insights lists him as a co-investor in Advizr's 2015 seed round. PitchBook lists nine investments, one exit and a board seat at Snappy Kraken.
1248, the family office of Bicknell, led Sherpas' seed round, announced on February 23, 2026. Sherpas builds AI-native infrastructure for wealth management firms. The company's announcement gives the round size as $3.2M, while the Lounge deals desk lists $4M. Steve Lockshin, founder of Vanilla and AdvicePeriod, joined the Sherpas board as part of the financing.
RIABiz reports that Bicknell co-owns Humanity Labs, an agentic AI venture, and that Mariner plans to spend about $175 million over five years on AI agents for back-office work. That spending is Mariner's own budget, not an angel investment.
His public investments are concentrated in wealthtech and fintech, with a recent move into AI for financial advice. He has said he looks for wealthtech investments outside the coastal tech hubs. Sherpas was a seed round, and Tracxn shows seed, Series A and Series D participation. Bicknell has not published a personal check size. NFX Signal lists Flyover Capital with an investment range of $500K to $8.0M and a sweet spot of $500K. That range describes the firm, not his angel checks.
- Sherpas: AI-native infrastructure for wealth management firms; seed round led by 1248 in February 2026.
- Altruist: wealth management technology platform; participated in its Series D in April 2023.
- Eaglebrook: digital assets advisory firm; Series A in January 2022.
- Bento Engine: seed round in June 2022.
- Lifeworks: angel round in November 2020.
- Advizr: wealthtech company; co-investor in its 2015 seed round.
- Quovo: wealthtech company; listed as an investment by Wealth Management.
- Vanilla: listed by Tracxn as a notable investment; date not stated.
- venturebeat.com/business/sherpas-raises-32m-seed-round-to-scale-the-ai
- privatebankerinternational.com/news/ai-wealth-tech-firm-sherpas-seed-r
- wealthmanagement.com/ria-news/marty-bicknell-an-ria-shark-tank
- wealthmanagement.com/ria-edge/ria-edge-podcast-building-a-full-service
- tracxn.com/d/people/marty-bicknell/__5Z_pFSlHLX7VK2Uj5bj1jpojTBee2vX-N
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/124327-18
- signal.nfx.com/investors/marty-bicknell
- cbinsights.com/investor/ann-kaplan
Investing activity
Marty Bicknell appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $4M. The most recent is Sherpas (Seed, $4M, Feb 2026).
Marty Bicknell most often invests alongside GoHub Ventures, 1248 Holdings and AUA Capital Management, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Marty Bicknell
Who is Marty Bicknell?
Bicknell is the founder and CEO of Mariner Wealth Advisors, which he founded in 2006 with seven others. He is also a partner at Flyover Capital and invests through his family office, 1248.
Does Marty Bicknell invest in AI startups?
Yes. His family office 1248 led the February 2026 seed round of Sherpas, an AI infrastructure company for wealth management firms. He also co-owns the agentic AI venture Humanity Labs, according to RIABiz.
What is Marty Bicknell's check size?
He has not published a personal check size. NFX Signal lists a $500K to $8.0M range for Flyover Capital, where he is a partner.
What stage does Marty Bicknell invest in?
His dated deals include angel, seed, Series A and Series D rounds. His AI deal, Sherpas, was a seed round.
What sectors does Marty Bicknell back?
Mostly wealthtech and fintech, where Mariner can act as a customer or design partner. He has also said he looks outside the coastal tech hubs.
How can founders contact Marty Bicknell?
He has a public LinkedIn profile. No personal website or X account turned up in our research.
Is Marty Bicknell an angel investor?
Yes. Marty Bicknell invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Marty Bicknell invested in?
Marty Bicknell's AI investments include Sherpas. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Marty Bicknell invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Marty Bicknell has invested at Seed, with a median round of $4M.
Who does Marty Bicknell co-invest with?
Marty Bicknell's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are GoHub Ventures (1 deal), 1248 Holdings (1 deal) and AUA Capital Management (1 deal).