Avantax Poaches Team From IFG, Four Former Goldman Advisors Depart, LPL Wins Firm From Lincoln, Atria Completes Grove Point Acquisition, Alera Group And CoastalOne Bolster C-Suite, White Glove Appoints Chief Evangelist And Osaic Nabs Wells Fargo Breakaway
Our Weekly Recruitment Roundup brings you two firms that added – and filled – C-suite roles: Alera Group and CoastalOne; Avantax recruiting a Burbank, California-based firm from Independent Financial Group; four former Goldman Sachs PFM advisors departing in Dallas, including three to Dynasty; Atria completing its acquisition of Grove Point; LPL recruiting an $800 million team formerly with Lincoln; White Glove naming a Chief Evangelist; and Osaic recruiting a $600 million team from Wells Fargo.
Advisor Transactions
1. Avantax Recruits Los Angeles Area Firm From IFG
Avantax announced the recruitment of Burbank, California-based Comprehensive Financial Services from Independent Financial Group (IFG). The eight-person team is led by Anna Luke and her husband Victor Luke, with Anna Luke focusing on wealth preservation and Victor Luke helping clients with estate planning at the firm, which has over $230 million in assets as of May 15.
Avantax reported recruiting $141 million in new assets and 50 financial professionals in the second quarter of this year, ending the first half with total client assets of $83.8 billion.
Laurie Stack, VP, Business Development and Head of the Women’s Advisor Forum at Avantax, said, “I feel very fortunate to know Anna and Victor personally, and to welcome them into the Avantax Community because their firm has such a collaborative culture and they care so deeply about protecting clients’ wealth. Anna is an incredible businesswoman who literally started with nothing but was so determined to succeed that she grew into a highly successful financial advisor. Anna is a shining example for women everywhere.”
2. Three Goldman Advisors Depart For Dynasty, A Fourth To Hilltop Securities
In the wake of Goldman Sachs’ sale of its Personal Financial Management unit to Creative Planning, Dallas-based advisors Jonathan Blumenthal, Timothy R. Harder and Brandon M. Ross departed to form Quotient Wealth Partners, which has contracted with Dynasty Financial Partners for operational and back-office support and its RIA subsidiary for investment services.
The three advisors are owners of Quotient, which employs 17 people, according to its Form ADV, filed Sept. 1. Asset estimates vary, with sources for AdvisorHub saying they could have managed as much as $4 billion at Goldman, while a source reported by Citywire RIA estimated Ross and Blumenthal’s book of business at approximately $2.5 billion.
A fourth former Goldman advisor, J. Mark Rawlings, departed to join Dallas-based Hilltop Securities. A source for AdvisorHub estimated that he managed approximately $200 million in assets.
3. LPL Lures $800 Million Team From Lincoln
LPL Financial recruited Peoria, Arizona-based Validus Financial Associates, with approximately $800 million in assets as of Dec. 31, 2022, to its broker-dealer, RIA and custodial platforms. Senior Partners Ryan S. Kill and Aaron C. Montez founded Validus in 2009 and lead the firm, which was previously affiliated with Lincoln Financial Group.
The Validus team also includes Partner Andy St. John and advisors Andrew Peronia, Andrew Tuell, Marcus Luckeneder, Sean Guill and Kurt Oswald, as well as four support staff.
LPL recently onboarded Connecticut-based Wood Wealth Management, with approximately $130 million in assets, to its Linsco by LPL Financial employee channel, and Texas-based Veritas Legacy Wealth, with approximately $320 million in assets, to its LPL Strategic Wealth Services affiliate.
“It’s an honor to welcome Ryan, Aaron and the entire Validus team to the LPL community,” said Scott Posner, EVP, Business Development at LPL. “Our sole focus is to empower advisors by providing them with differentiated resources and capabilities to deliver more value to clients and run thriving businesses. We look forward to the journey ahead with Validus Financial Associates as they grow and build out their ideal practice.”
4. Osaic Takes $600 Million Team From Wells Fargo
Osaic announced Investment Consulting Group (ICG), a Birmingham, Michigan-based advisory firm with over $600 million in client assets, has joined its network of independent financial advisors. The ICG team, formerly part of the Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, includes Managing Partners and Co-Founders Christopher DeWolfe and Jason Franklin; VPs Judd Allen, Mark Ivanovic and Spencer Schmale; and Financial Advisor Clay Franklin.
Osaic is backed by Reverence Capital Partners and supports over 11,000 financial professionals. In July, Osaic recruited Vitucci Integrated Planning from Cetera, following its June rebrand from its previous name – Advisor Group – during which it announced plans to unite its subsidiaries and streamline operations.
Osaic EVP Business Development, Kristen Kimmell, said, “Osaic’s value proposition and forward-looking focus are attracting talented advisors and impressive firms with sophisticated practices. We are committed to ensuring their advisors and clients have everything they need to thrive in this evolving industry. We welcome them to the firm and look forward to partnering with them to help them meet their ambitious growth goals.”
Mergers & Acquisitions
5. Atria Completes Acquisition Of Grove Point
Atria Wealth Solutions announced the completion of its acquisition of Grove Point Financial, onboarding approximately 400 independent financial professionals with $15 billion in assets under administration (AUA). With the acquisition, Atria serves almost 2,700 professionals with close to $120 billion in AUA.
The transaction was announced in April. Grove Point will continue to service clients without interruption since its custody and clearing platforms are already woven into Atria’s infrastructure for its subsidiaries, which also include CUSO Financial Services, Sorrento Pacific Financial, Cadaret Grant, NEXT Financial Group, Western International Securities and SCF Securities. Grove Point professionals are expected to benefit from enhanced support and a broader set of solutions.
“I’ve been very fortunate to meet with many Grove Point financial professionals since announcing the acquisition, and they are truly a phenomenal group of individuals,” said
Doug Ketterer, CEO and Founding Partner of Atria. “Their passion, care and commitment to their clients is abundantly clear and palpable. It’s these driving forces that have been at the core of Atria since its inception and, when combined with the Grove Point team, it creates something unique and special.”
Promotions & People Moves
6. CoastalOne Creates And Fills Role Of Chief Product Officer
IBD and RIA platform CoastalOne announced that Yanni V. Bousnakis was appointed to the newly created role of Chief Product Officer, where he will oversee efforts to expand the firm’s wealth management capabilities, including investment advisory solutions. Bousnakis will report directly to firm CEO, Kevin M. Keefe, who took the firm’s helm in June.
Bousnakis previously served as SVP, Head Advisory Platforms & Investment Solutions at Kestra Financial, Head of Investment Solutions at Cetera Financial and in leadership roles at First Allied Securities, LPL Financial and Scudder Investments.
“We are embarking on a new era here at CoastalOne, elevating both the advisor and client experience on multiple fronts,” said Keefe. “Yanni brings 20-plus years of product strategy and front-line platform development expertise to this new role. We’re thrilled to have someone of his caliber on board to drive this transformational change and lead our growing team of specialists in the development and management of our product strategy and offerings.”
7. Alera Group Appoints Chief Investment Officer To New Role
Alera Group announced the appointment of B.J. Webster to fill the newly created role of Chief Investment Officer for its Wealth Services and Retirement Plan Services divisions. Webster is Managing Partner of wealth management firm Wharton Business Group, which was acquired by Alera Group in 2022 and has $3.5 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Webster will assume the CIO role while continuing to work with his clients. The firm’s Wealth Services division has over $7.5 billion in AUM and its Retirement Plan Services division advises on approximately $7.5 billion in assets.
Tina Hohman, EVP and National Practice Leader of Alera Group Wealth Services, said, “With B.J.’s leadership and guidance, we will provide a unified investment platform for a consistent client experience and easy access to broad investment options. We’ll be adding or simplifying access to model portfolios, separately managed accounts, alternative investments and more.”
8. White Glove Names Diana Cabrices As Chief Evangelist
Marketing services firm White Glove announced that Diana Cabrices will assume the role of Chief Evangelist, growing the firm’s brand and educating the firm’s advisors on how to best leverage its workshop system and marketing services to engage clients and prospects. She will regularly participate in webinars, conferences and customer engagement activities.
Cabrices is Founder of Diana Cabrices Consulting and served as VP of Enterprise Development at Snappy Kraken and in various roles at Chalice Network and Succession Link.
Cabrices said, “To me, White Glove has always been synonymous with highly personalized service. The firm offers a true concierge approach to full-stack digital marketing, led by great people and backed by smart technology. I’m thrilled to step into this role, and to support advisors on their transformative marketing journey through White Glove’s educational workshops and high-quality content.”
James Miller, Contributing Editor and Research Analyst at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at ContributingEd@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
