360 Financial Merges With Fleming Investment Group, Private Advisor Group Brings On AK Financial Group, Wealth Enhancement Group Adds Sadoff Investment Management And Kristen Kimmell Of Advisor Group Is Our Inaugural Recruiter Of The Month
Deputy Managing Editor, Wealth Solutions Report
For this edition of the Weekly Recruitment Roundup, in addition to covering three recent deals, we introduce the Recruiter Of The Month, our new recurring Q&A with a different executive responsible for bringing on top strategic and advisory talent at leading firms. Sometimes this will be an in-house recruiter whose deals have been featured recently, and sometimes not.
For our inaugural Recruiter Of The Month entry, we speak with Kristen Kimmell, Executive Vice President, Business Development, Advisor Group. For this week’s deals, we look at Minnesota-based 360 Financial merging with Fleming Investment Group, Private Advisor Group bringing on AK Financial Groupand Wealth Enhancement Group acquiring Sadoff Investment Management.
1. 360 Financial Merges With Fleming Investment Group, Creating $529 Million Team
Two Minnesota-based firms, 360 Financial in Wayzata and Fleming Investment Group in Elk River, merged under the 360 Financial brand that combines more than 1,000 clients and approximately $529 million in client assets.
360 Financial Founder Mike Rogers will remain as President while Brian Bohnsack, the former President of Fleming Investment Group, becomes Senior Vice President of the merged company that has an 18-member team including seven advisors. 360 Financial was founded in 1995 and Fleming Investment Group was founded in 2006.
“This opportunity is great for our firm to expand into the Northwest metro area, collaborate with an outstanding advisory team, and provide additional resources to our respective clients,” Rogers said in the press release. “This new partnership also brings a local team of specialists that can assist us in many areas like investment management, advanced financial planning, and client service support,” Bohnsack said in the press release.
To learn more, view the press release here.
2. Private Advisor Group Brings On $1 Billion AUM AK Financial Group
Irvine, California-based AK Financial Group, which has a 25-member team that oversees more than $1 billion in assets under management (AUM), is joining the Morristown, New Jersey-based RIA Private Advisor Group.
The firms expect to complete the transition by the end of the year. AK Financial Group Founder and President Andrew C. Karlinski, who has been in the financial services industry since 1976, will become Managing Director West Region of Private Advisor Group. Advisors of both firms are affiliated with LPL Financial as their broker-dealer. As of Dec. 31, Private Advisor Group had more than $33 billion in AUM.
“This is a critical step in the succession of AK Financial Group …” Karlinski said in the press release. “Winding down my RIA operations allows me to spend more time doing what I love most; spending time with clients and mentoring financial advisors.”
To learn more, view the press release here.
3. WEG Acquires $1.6 Billion Family-Owned RIA Sadoff Investment Management
Plymouth, Minnesota-based Wealth Enhancement Group (WEG) is acquiring the Milwaukee-based RIA Sadoff Investment Management. Ronald Sadoff, who founded the firm in 1978, runs it with family members Bryan and Michael. They oversee approximately $1.6 billion in client assets.
This marks WEG’s ninth deal so far this year. On Sept. 8, the company announced its acquisition of Pinnacle Private Wealth, a Burlington, Massachusetts-based firm with over $660 million in client assets. WEG and its subsidiaries have over $57 billion in client assets across more than 75 offices nationwide.
“It’s been 44 years since we opened our doors, but this is the beginning of a new, exciting chapter for our firm and our clients,” Ronald Sadoff said in the press release. “They will benefit from the massive network of specialists and resources at Wealth Enhancement Group while receiving the same care we’ve promised and delivered from the beginning.”
To learn more, view the press releases here and here.
Recruiter Of The Month
Kristen Kimmell, Executive Vice President, Business Development, Advisor Group
Advisor Group conducted a string of team recruitments this year, such as its recent Wealth Management Resource Group deal. It also recruited several seasoned industry executives, such as Dimple Shah as Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Iryna Northrip as Chief Compliance Officer, Investment Advisory.
On the M&A front, Advisor Group announced the acquisition of American Portfolios Financial Services, a broker-dealer with approximately $40 billion in client assets. Advisor Group’s network of independent broker-dealers also includes FSC Securities, Royal Alliance, SagePoint Financial, Securities America, Triad Advisors and Woodbury Financial. As of Dec. 31, Advisor Group oversaw approximately $515 billion in client assets.
WSR: Advisor Group and its IBDs have accumulated a series of impressive recruitments recently. Why did your firm win these deals?
Kimmell: Our success underscores Advisor Group’s value proposition for high-quality financial advisors, teams and other financial advisory businesses across the size spectrum. The professionals we support are focused on growing planning-based, client-relationship-driven businesses, and they recognize how our unique combination of scale-driven resources and personalized service empowers them to do just that.
The pursuit of scale to drive continuous reinvestment in advisor growth resources in a fast-consolidating industry, while important, isn’t sufficient by itself to get recruits of all sizes to where they want their businesses to be. Yes, our professionals are looking for strength, stability, expertise and scalable digital solutions to take their businesses to the next level. But they’re also looking to balance these features with a truly personalized service experience. We’re one of the few large firms that can deliver on this promise.
WSR: What do you do on a daily basis, as EVP of Business Development, to help bring about these deals for Advisor Group?
Kimmell: My responsibility is to ensure all our talented internal, external and third-party recruiters are consistently telling the Advisor Group story. We have a concerted strategy to expand our reach affiliation options to attract a wider cross-section of the financial advisor community, from sophisticated ensemble firms to wirehouse breakaways.
The significant investments Advisor Group has made in our people, platforms and processes have made our value proposition to new recruits more compelling than ever. Moreover, we’ve enhanced our transition and onboarding services to be second to none compared against any other firm, large or small, in the industry. Put simply, my team and I work daily to put advisors front and center to all that we do, and keeping that constant mindset leads to recruiting success.
Chris Latham, Deputy Managing Editor at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at clatham@wealthsolutionsreport.com
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