March 2023 Financial Advisor and RIA Moves and Acquisitions

The Silicon Valley Bank upheaval which occurred in early March had caused many Teams and FAs to reexamine the firms they custody and clear with in addition to re-examining their plans. During the month we saw a pause in the departure of FAs from the larger wirehouses, to the boutique regional bank channels and some wirehouses and large bank broker channels even benefitting from the SVB event from a recruiting perspective. For example JP Morgan Wealth reported that the number of financial advisors across the bank's wealth management lines rose to 8,314 — a bump of 2% from 8,166 last quarter, and up 9% from 7,614 year over year with additional Teams joining post SVB.

Looking at RIA acquisition, there was a 12% increase the average assets per RIA deal among the 75 acquisitions announced. In total $1.2 trillion of AUM was acquired even with a tighter credit environment. How? We often make a note in MarketPlace whether a private equity firm was involved in the backing and very relevant at this past quarter PE was involved in over 75% of the RIA acquisitions….a trend that does not appear to be slowing.

The biggest takeaway was that March had the lowest amount of wirehouse activity that we have seen in months. Part of this is linked to the SVB event which gave many wirehouse teams pause as they re-evaluated the landscape and what would be compatible with their overall client base needs, which often involves securities and other lending products that are bank relationship dependent.

Independents and Banks:

Zac Ritchey, Ben Goethel, and Tyler Schlumpf in Omaha, NE with $1.9 B AUM have joined Private Wealth Asset Management.  This will effectively double the AUM at Private Wealth.  They were previously with Wells.

Chirstopher W. Walters and Marc C. Koch and Team managing $500 M AUM in New York, NY have joined Morgan Stanley, departing First Republic. The Team was ranked #22 on the Forbes next-gent FAs list. They joined FRB in November last year, where they departed JPM prior to that.

Fernandez Cabrera Group (FAs:  J.C. Cabrera and Pedro Fernandez)  based in Miami with $700 M AUM have joined JP Morgan Wealth Management. Previously with UBS

James B. Marchetti  and team (James L. Marchetti , Caleb Porter, Alicia Powell, Ellen Sibenlist and Stacy Swain) based in San Francisco, CA with $1 B AUM have joined Rockefeller. Previously with First Republic and had joined there in 2016.

Brent Herbert based in Boston, MA managing $445 M AUM has joined JP Morgan Wealth. Previously with Goldman Sachs.

The Legacy Group has renamed as Carpion Private Wealth (FAs Eric Cardenas, Dan G. Croonquist, and Amanda M. Madrigale) and joined Sanctuary Wealth in Midland, TX. The team manages $800 M AUM and will custody at Pershing. Previously with Morgan Stanley. This will be Sanctuary’s 15 firm in Texas.

Iterhic Wealth Advisors (FAs: Matt Terwilliger) based in Dublin, OH with $170 M AUM has joined Sanctuary Wealth.  The Team departed Morgan Stanley.

Ensign Wealth Partners (FAs: Stephen Calder and Jed Dewsnup) managing $500 M AUM based in Farmington, UT (SLC mtero) has joined Steward Partners. They will use Pershing to custody the assets and were previously with Wells.

Steven M. Rozencwaig managing $315 M AUM in New York, NY has joined Raymond James employee FA platform. He was previously with UBS.

Rohlik Financial Group (FAs: Brent Rohlik and Suzanne Holt) with $1 B AUM in Minneapolis, MN, has joined AdvisorNet Financial via Cetera. The Team departed Regulus Financial Group and this add continues the positive momentum Cetera had with their record setting recruiting in 2022.

Wooster Square Advisors (FAs: Brett Amendola) in New Haven, CT with $250 M AUM has joined Cetera. Prev with Park Ave Securities. 

Mark Palombi in Stuart, FL managing $445 M AUM has joined RBC Wealth Management.  He is ranked 30th on the Forbes Best in State list and departed Merrill Lynch.

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Laskaris Jamett Advisors (FAs: Renato Jamett, Tom Laskaris, and Dominic Jametthave joined and opened a new Janney office in Grosse Pointe, MI.  The team was previously with Raymond James.  This is Janney's second Michigan location as the firm continues expansion beyond the East coast.

Richard Weisberg, Team name Weisberg Wealth Management in Naples, FL with $350 M AUM has joined Raymond James Financial Services. Prev at UBS. 

 Lopez Wealth Management (FA:  Joaquin Lopez ) in Cranberry Twp, PA  with $130M AUM has joined LPL under their dually registered BD/RIA platform. Prev with Lincoln Investment Planning.

Money Matters (FAs: Ron Clark and George Brkljacic) based in Tampa, FL managing $250 M AUM has joined LPL. Previously with Cetera.

Gwidt Wealth Management Group (FAs : David “Dave” Gwidt and Paul Gwidt ) with $500 M AUM in Racine, WI have joined Raymond James. Prev with Wells.

Lucas Mijares and Jesse Ettlin have established Zion Capital Wealth Management in Grass Valley, CA with $185 M AUM.  They will clear via LPL's RIA/BD platform.  They departed Edward Jones to form their new practice.

Buckminster Palmer Group (FAs: Dee N. Buckminster and Austin L. Palmer) in Huntersville, NC with $550 M AUM have joined Kestra Private Wealth.  They are ranked on the Forbes/Shook Best in State list. Previously with Merrill. 

 Barry and Michael Doering in Houston, TX managing $245 M AUM have joined Stifel. They are departing Merrill Lynch. 

Peter S. McFarland and Jeremy Chase based in Lexington, KY with $280 M AUM have joined Meridian Wealth Management. Previously with UBS.

Zedra has opened up it's first wealth management office in Sioux Falls, SD as it enters the US private wealth market.  Prior to this, they had purchased Atlas Fund Services, now rebranded as Zedra Funds.  The office is being led by Jon Olson.

Ximena Guevara and Carolina Thompson in Miami, FL with $120 M AUM have joined Insigneo. Previously with Morgan Stanley.

Alexander H. Kadish, Nicholas Davey and J.P. Garofalo with $1.2 B AUM in Los Angeles, CA have joined First Republic Bank. As with many adds at FRB, the six person team does not have an official team name and is their fourth recruiting add of 2023, prior to the regional bank pressures.  The team was previously with Morgan Stanley.

Wirehouses:

Vishal Bakshi based in New York, NY with $1.5 B AUM has joined Morgan Stanley, departing First Republic. He brought the rest of the team to Morgan including: David A. Greene, Cynthia Lichwick and Blake Winick. Was at FRB for a little over a year.

Soto & Zuloaga Retirement Group ( FAs: Christopher Soto and Adrian Zuolaga,) in Irvine, CA with $500 M AUM have joined Morgan Stanley. They were previously with Wells Fargo and have been named one of the Top 100 Retirement Advisors by PlanAdvisor

Pickard Poser Wealth Group (FAs: Drew Pickard and Matthew Poser) in Aventura, FL with $150 M AUM has joined Morgan Stanley. Previously with Janney.

Keith Kulesa in Greenwood Village, CO with $325 M AUM has joined Morgan Stanley. Previously with Merrill Lynch.

Thomas Sheehan Providence, RI with $305 M AUM has joined UBS and departed Merrill.

Brian Mariash and James Barton Lowther ( team name: Mariash Lowther Wealth Management) in Sarasota, FL managing $640 M AUM has joined UBS. The Team has been ranked multiple times on the Forbes Best in State list. Previously with Merrill.

Acquisitions and RIAs:

Heller Private Wealth (new RIA) has been launched in Ft Lauderdale, FL led by Justin Heller and Eric Winn with $65 M AUM. Previously with Merrill.

Monroe Vos Consulting  (led by : Jamison Monroe, Timothy Vos) in Houston, TX with $ 5.8 B AUM has been purchased by CapTrust. This is CapTrust's second purchase of 2023

Cornerstone Comprehensive Wealth Management (lead FA: Christopher Abts)  with $400 M AUM in Reno, NV has been purchased by Prime Capital Investment Advisors (PE backed) .  Cornerstone produces a TV show called " Redefining Retirement"  which stood out to Prime and what also made them an attractive purchase. 

Downtown Wealth Studios LLC (new RIA) has been launched by Joseph C. Cefalu in Boston, MA (additional office in Miami, FL)  with $1.35 B AUM. Kathleen Cefalu and Dinghao “Peter” Jiang have also joined. The practice focuses on a handful of UHNW clients and custodies with Pershing. 

SVB Private Wealth RIA division (formerly Boston Private) with $ 5.9 B AUM has been purchased by First Citizens Bank based in Raleigh, NC.   Prior to the acquisition First Citizens had $1.6 B AUM and runs a dual-registered RIA and BD under the name "First Citizens Investor Services.”

IDB Lido Wealth has been launched by IDB Bank and Lido Advisors, with the focus to bring asset management services to the clients of IDB Bank. Lido Advisors CEO Jason Ozur will serve as chairman of the new RIA. Lido had $12 B AUM across 28 offices prior to the new venture with IDB.

Modern Wealth Management has been launched by Gary Roth and Mike Capelle, and President Jason Gordo, with $200 M in PE backing from Crestview. Gary and Mike were co-founders of United Capital which was later purchased by Goldman Sachs. They intend on growing the new RIA via mainly via acquisition.

Andesa Financial Management (FAs: Paul C. Barbehenn and Michael C. Baittinger) in Allentown, PA with $330 M AUM has been purchased by Mercer Global Advisors: (PE backed). This will bring Mercer's assets close to $50 B AUM with this latest acquisition and the second of 2023.

Westcourt Capital Corporation with $2.5 B in Toronto, CAD has joined Focus Financial. This will be Focus's 5th firm based in Canada and is one of the few US based aggregators focusing on the Canadian wealth market. Westcourt will continue to operate under the Westcourt name.

Stakeholders Capital (FAs: Andrew Bellak and Brad Stonberg) based in Amherst, MA RIA with $145 M AUM has been acquired by Perigon (PE backed Merchant). Stakeholders focuses on Socially Responsible Investment portfolios. Perigon AUM will now sit close to $5B AUM.

KSL Advisory ( FAs: Michael McCarville; Tara Carley,  Tara Vagnone, Amanda Dekki, and Andrew Hoercher) have joined Cerity Parters in New York, NY. AUM was not provided. KSL was purchased by Boston Private back in 2004, and the Team departed SVB Private to join Cerity.

Equius Partners (FAs: Phil Jonckheer and Jeff Troutner)  based in Novato, CA with $1 B AUM has been purchased by Wealth Enhancement Group (PE backed) . 11 total staff, 7 of which are FAs,  will be joining WEG post acquisition.

Goldfinch Wealth Management (FA: Roy Janse) based in Greenville, S.C. with $221 M AUM has been acquired by Mariner Wealth Advisors. This is Mariner’s fourth deal in 2023 and is in 34 states now.

Heron Wealth (FA: David Edwards) in New York, NY with $300 M AUM has been acquire by Wealthspire.  This brings Wealthspire to $17 B AUM and is the first acquisition of the year.

Prozan Financial Services (FA: Larry Prozan) in Walnut Creek, CA  with $190 M AUM  ( hybrid RIA) has been purchased by Wealth Enhancement Group (WEG, PE backed).

Avalon Advisors with $8.4 B AUM based in Houston, TX has been purchased by Canadian based CI Financial. Avalon was PE backed by Cynosure. CI had filed in December to go public.

Telarray Advisors based in Memphis ,TN with $1 B AUM has been purchased by Creative Planning. All 18 employees will join Creative and is the 7th acquisition for Creative with more than $1 B AUM.

Shobe Financial Group based in Baton Rouge, LA with $500 M AUM has been purchased by Carson Group. This is Carson's first acquisition of 2023 and brings their AUM to $22 B AUM.

Alvarez Andreu with $132 M AUM has joined Snowden Lane Partners in Coral Gables. FL. Prev with Morgan Stanley.

Canadian based merger, Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. and PI Financial are merging. Combined they will have $12 B AUM and 210 financial advisors. It is expected to close in April. 

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Written By: Gui Costin, Founder, CEO

Gui Costin is the Founder and CEO of Dakota.

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