This edition of the Deals & Recruiting Roundup covers Summit Financial investing in Meeder Wealth Management, Crux Wealth Advisors breaking away as a hybrid RIA, Equita Financial Network onboarding three women-led firms, Commonwealth recruiting Krueger Financial, Summit Trail adding advisor Paul D. Hoskin, Ashton Thomas hiring advisor Cary Carbonaro, CV Advisors hiring Ari Hadida as a Portfolio Manager, NewEdge Wealth recruiting from Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, Sanctuary Wealth partnering with the CAIA Association, Axtella partnering with Sycamore Company, World Investment Advisors naming Kevin Ryan as CFO, and billion-dollar teams exiting Wells Fargo and UBS.
Larry’s Take
This week’s roundup covers 34 people breaking away from all four wirehouses. One firm, NewEdge Wealth, added 12 of them. Wells Fargo and UBS are poised to lose nearly $3 billion in assets from the other exits. These are successful teams leaving the wirehouses.
The immense headcount and asset level of each wirehouse means they are not suffering much as a direct result of these breakaways. Sustained profit levels at wirehouses also suggest that, in the grand scheme of things, the breakaway trend to independence may not be a major threat to their business model.
Still, it is rare for successful RIA and independent broker-dealer teams to become wirehouse employees. There’s little incentive to give up decision-making capacity for lower take-home pay and more bureaucracy. Especially as technology platforms and third-party services are swiftly diminishing the institutional capabilities gap between the channels.
So, while independent and captive channels will continue to coexist for the foreseeable future, wirehouses may one day discover that their value proposition will have to rely on more than size and a household name to retain top producers.
If you would like to discuss this Larry’s Take further, including how these trends might impact your business, please contact me at larry.roth@rlrstrategicpartners.com.
Mergers & Acquisitions
1. Summit Financial Picks Up Meeder’s $400 Million Wealth Management Division
Parsippany, New Jersey-based Summit Financial Holdings, in partnership with its backer, Merchant Investment Management, announced the acquisition of a significant equity stake in the wealth management division of Meeder Investment Management. The deal closed in the second quarter.
Dublin, Ohio-based Meeder Wealth Management has approximately $400 million in assets under management (AUM). It will have access to SummitVantage, Summit Financial’s proprietary integrated platform, and will retain its branding and entire team, which consists of President Jason Click, Vice President Mike Saraullo, Senior Wealth Advisors Mike Miller and Ryan Johnson, Senior Wealth Coordinator Tricia McDermott and Wealth Coordinator Sara Story.
“For these types of firms, which share a passion for growth while upholding a client-first mentality, Summit is a natural fit,” said Stan Gregor, CEO of Summit Financial.
2. $3 Billion Crux Wealth Advisors Breaks Away As Hybrid RIA, Plans M&A Pipeline
An advisory firm that managed over $3 billion in client assets at Raymond James Financial Services broke away to launch Crux Wealth Advisors as a fully independent hybrid RIA. Crux CEO and Founder Travis Alexander established the firm in 2016 and, while on the Raymond James platform, grew his firm’s AUM from about $70 million to over $3 billion.
Long Beach, California-based Crux started with an initial tranche of $1 billion in AUM. The 16-person team also has offices in Burbank, California, and Westchester, Illinois. More tranches of AUM are anticipated this year, as part of a multi-phase transition strategy. A Crux spokesperson added that the firm has a pipeline of potential M&A activity in development, along with opportunities for tuck-in and breakaway advisors.
“Growth for the sake of growth is not what we’re solving for,” Alexander said. “Sure, that can have a positive impact on share price or profitability but, oftentimes, it doesn’t correlate to improving client experience and success. That’s what our growth plan is solving for.”
Advisor Transactions
3. Equita Financial Network Onboards Three Women-Led Firms
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania-based Equita Financial Network, a business platform for women-led independently owned and operated fee-only financial planning firms, brought on three new member firms to its platform, which now has 10 such firms. Equita had $283 million in AUM as of its August SEC ADV filing.
Amy Hamasaki’s Mountain Wealth Planning, founded in 2020; Ann J. Shubert’s Equila Financial, founded in July; and Shehara Wooten’s Your Story Financial, founded in 2016, all joined in recent months. Their practices provide financial planning, investment management and coaching for small business owners, professional women, STEM professionals and the LGBTQIA+ community.
“This great momentum for Equita reflects a positive trend in the industry, and increases the professional support available to those who have historically been underserved by traditional financial services firms,” said Equita Co-Founder Bridget Venus Grimes. “Equita is thrilled to support the growth of these women-led firms. We have watched other women financial advisors on our platform do just this, and their success has been remarkable.”
4. Commonwealth Recruits $630 Million Krueger Financial In Arizona
Commonwealth Financial Network recruited Tempe, Arizona-based Krueger Financial Services, a nine-person team that previously managed over $630 million in client assets at Osaic. Its advisors include owner Kim Krueger, Eric Krueger and Tim Hill.
The firm advises clients on investing principles and strategies, retirement investing and distribution strategies, estate conservation issues and risk management analysis. Kim Krueger has 18 years of industry experience. Before starting her own firm in 2010, she worked at SagePoint Financial.
“I’m highly focused on where I can gain additional efficiencies,” Krueger said. “Easy access to subject matter experts makes a huge difference. And Commonwealth’s integrated trading platform means I don’t have to use several systems to get something done – and neither do our clients, who can access what they need through one portal.”
5. Summit Trail Adds Advisor Paul D. Hoskin In California
New York-based Summit Trail Advisors added Paul D. Hoskin as a Partner and Advisor in Newport Beach, California. He has 35 years of experience, according to FINRA’s BrokerCheck. Previously, he worked at Key Client Group of BNP Paribas/Bank of the West, managing over $500 million in assets and serving business owners and ultra-high net worth families.
Summit Trail has 10 locations nationwide. It provides outsourced family office and CIO services for UHNW individuals, family offices and nonprofit entities. Summit Trail has $18 billion in AUM and is a member of the Dynasty Network. In June, Summit Trail recruited the former
Key Client Groupfrom BMO. Key Client Group had more than $3 billion in assets when BMO acquired it from BNP Paribas/Bank of the West last year.
“I look forward to serving my clients by leveraging the exceptional investment and estate planning capabilities of Summit Trail Advisors, as well as its family office resources,” Hoskin said.
6. Ashton Thomas Hires Industry Veteran Cary Carbonaro
Scottsdale, Arizona-based Ashton Thomas Private Wealth, part of Arax Investment Partners, hired Cary Carbonaro as a Managing Wealth Advisor, and a Woman and Wealth Ambassador. She joins with Senior Wealth Advisor Rich Westhelle as part of her practice.
Carbonaro has 34 years of financial services experience. Most recently, she was Senior Vice President, Director of Women and Wealth at Advisors Capital Management. Before that, Carbonaro was a Managing Director at United Capital Financial Advisors, including through its sale to Goldman Sachs. She is a CFP Board Ambassador, a member of the NASDAQ Global Index U.S. Advisor Council, and a six-time member of the Investopedia Top 100 Financial Advisors list.
“For much of her extensive career in wealth management, Cary has been a tireless advocate for women’s financial wellness and empowerment,” Ashton Thomas posted on LinkedIn. “From media appearances to authorship to philanthropy, she continues to dedicate her life to uplifting women within the wealth advice industry and educating women of all walks of life on pursuing financial strength and independence.”
7. CV Advisors Hires Ari Hadida As Portfolio Manager
Miami-based multi-family office CV Advisors, which has over $11 billion in AUM, hired Ari Hadida as a Portfolio Manager and a member of the Investment Committee. He will focus on the construction and management of client portfolios along with holistic and integrated single-family service.
Hadida previously worked at Valor Advisors as a Portfolio Manager and Investment Committee member. Earlier, he was Vice President and Global Investment Specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Before that, Hadida was an advisor at UBS. Chicago-based private equity firm Constellation Wealth Capital announced a minority stake in CV Advisors earlier this year.
“Having been a financial adviser for more than 18 years, working in banking and a multi-family office, I believe CV Advisors’ ability to provide ultra-high net worth families and institutions with a high-touch, single-family office service offering at scale is a game changer,” Hadida said.
8. NewEdge Wealth Recruits 12 From Merrill Lynch And Morgan Stanley
NewEdge Wealth recruited a Florida-based team of eight from Merrill Lynch and a Pennsylvania-based team of four from Morgan Stanley. Parent organization NewEdge Capital Group reported recruiting nearly $5.5 billion in client assets during the first six months of the year.
Joining in the Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, area are office leaders Blaine Minton and Kirsten Tuzzo along with Scott Graver, Sebin Skaria, Maria Maloney, Diane McClung, Kelsey Navickas and Austin Tuzzo. Joining in Allentown, Pennsylvania, are advisors Paul Emrick and Matt Mongon along with Associates Monica Dougherty and Nathan Emrick.
“Blaine and Kirsten’s team are well known in the industry for their caliber of expertise in serving high net worth individuals and corporations,” said Rob Sechan, CEO of NewEdge Wealth. “Paul, Matt and the team have the expertise and experience to provide comprehensive wealth planning and advice to entrepreneurs and their families, as well as corporate retirement plans, endowments and foundations.”
Strategic Partnerships
9. Sanctuary, CAIA Partner To Boost Alts Investment Education For Advisors
Indianapolis-based Sanctuary Wealth launched its AltVantage Program (known as “SWAP”) in partnership with the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, a global professional body for the alternative investments industry.
The program will provide Sanctuary advisors training and education on using alts, by offering complimentary access to the Fundamentals of Alternative Investments (FAI) certificate program on CAIA’s UniFi platform. Franklin Templeton and FS Investments are sponsoring the initiative as strategic alliance partners of Sanctuary.
“SWAP represents a pivotal opportunity for our partner firms to deepen their understanding of the alternative investment landscape,” said Patrick McGowan, Head of Manager Research and Alternative Investments at Sanctuary. “With projections indicating a potential $20 trillion influx of capital into the alternative space in the coming years, it’s crucial that our partner firms are well equipped to navigate and capitalize on these opportunities for our clients.”
10. Axtella, Sycamore Partner On Compensation Management For Advisors
Ann Arbor, Michigan-based broker-dealer/RIA Axtella signed on to use wealthtech firm Sycamore Company’s Compensation Manager solution. It is designed to help firms comply with regulations and maintain detailed records of compensation awarded, by allowing advisors to see compensation statements and pending compensation.
The system integrates fee billing, monitors trades and checks blotters, providing real-time access for representatives. It adjusts to regulatory changes, estimates expected commissions and reconciles them against actual commissions received. Additionally, it provides commission statements, history, payables and client information.
“Leveraging Sycamore Compensation Manager means our advisors will have an exceptional tool to keep track of their payments. At Axtella, we are constantly looking to enhance our advisors’ efficiency,” said Brandon Rydell, President at Axtella. “The adoption of this technology underscores our commitment to attracting and retaining advisors and supporting them in delivering exceptional service to our clients.”
Promotions & People Moves
11. World Investment Advisors Names Kevin Ryan As New CFO
World Investment Advisors named Kevin Ryan as its new Chief Financial Officer. He will report to Troy Hammond, the firm’s Founder and CEO. Ryan has over 20 years of experience. He previously was the CFO of Xactus, a mortgage industry verification company, and the CEO of Keane, an unclaimed property service provider. He began his career as an auditor at Deloitte and later worked at KPMG.
The expansion of the leadership team comes after the firm recently rebranded from Pensionmark and acquired Boston Harbor Wealth Advisors, an independent firm in Westborough, Massachusetts, with over $3.5 billion in AUM. World Investment Advisors supports over $55 billion in assets across its institutional and wealth management segments. Its wealth management division has $11.5 billion in AUM.
“Joining WIA during this time of exponential growth and innovation is very exciting,” Ryan said. “I look forward to driving the overall financial strategy while partnering with the broader team to build on our market momentum and revenue growth.”
Wirehouse Activity
12. Billion-Dollar Teams Exit Wells Fargo For &Partners, UBS For Ameriprise
Jackson, Michigan-based Meridian Wealth Management left Wells Fargo, where it managed $1.4 billion in client assets, for &Partners. Founded in 1977, Meridian includes Manager Brad Clark along with Karen Barnes, John Stewartoooooooo9pk9, Jamie Grace, Robyn Dirlam, Frank Lusebrink, Gabe Davis and Danielle Peters, as well as Client Associates Jennifer Krumm, Barbara Lee and Amberlee Swift.
Houston and Beaumont, Texas-based Q5 Wealth Management left UBS, where it managed $1.5 billion in client assets, for Ameriprise. The team includes financial advisors Omar Bitar, Jeremy Saba, Mike Persia, Ed Persia and Brad Klein; Investment Specialists Kevin Wagner and Ashley Carter; Client Service Managers Sherri Thompson, Brandy Head and Taryn King; and Client Concierge Dena McNiel.
“We’re excited to welcome Q5 Wealth Management to our Ameriprise network,” said Ameriprise Field Vice President Logan Clipp. “Ameriprise is very thoughtful about the advisors we choose to partner with because we put significant time and resources into helping each one grow and serve clients exceptionally well. Omar, Jeremy, Mike, Ed and Brad exemplify what it means to run a growth-focused, client-centric practice.”
Chris Latham, Managing Editor at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at clatham@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
