This edition of the Weekly Recruitment Roundup features Cetera recruiting in Pennsylvania and Texas, Wells Fargo recruiting from J.P. Morgan, Robertson Stephens recruiting from Wells Fargo, Coldstream recruiting to its new Washington-based team, Wealth Enhancement Group acquiring Retirement Advisory Group, Hightower investing in a $2.5 billion Florida RIA, Dynasty Financial Partners helping Abacus Life launch a new wealth management unit, Atria’s Sorrento Pacific Financial partnering with Bank of Hawai‘i’s Bankoh Investment Services and Raymond James getting a new Head of Advisor Recruiting.
Advisor Transactions
1. Cetera Recruits Advisors In Pennsylvania And Oregon With Over $235 Million
Cetera Advisor Networks recruited Chalfont, Pennsylvania-based Bucks County Wealth Management, DuBois, Pennsylvania-based advisor Mike Love, and West Linn, Oregon-based advisor Mackenzie Martin, whose combined client assets are approximately $236 million. Bucks County Wealth Management is led by Grant Raskin and partner Rob McLarnon.
Raskin has 12 years of industry experience, McLarnon has seven years of experience, Love has 16 years of experience and Martin has 15 years of experience. Cetera oversees approximately $374 billion in assets under administration (AUA) and $145 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of Sept. 25, across more than 9,000 financial professionals.
“I’m pleased to welcome the Bucks County Wealth Management team to Cetera and look forward to seeing how this established practice utilizes our growth resources to accelerate its success,” said John Pierce, Head of Business Development at Cetera. “This affiliation is the latest example of experienced advisors being attracted to Cetera’s leading resources and support, and we look forward to continued momentum as we head toward the homestretch of 2023.”
2. Wells Fargo Recruits 4 Advisors From J.P. Morgan In California And Texas
Wells Fargo Advisors recruited three California-based advisors who previously served at J.P. Morgan – Beverly Hills-based Gianpaolo Bicego, Goleta-based Alex Sanchez and Torrance-based Johnson Leung – as well as Fort Worth, Texas-based Joshua Paigen. The advisors oversee a combined $662 million in assets, according to Financial Advisor IQ.
Bicego worked at J.P. Morgan Securities for 13 years, and before that at Wells for three years, according to BrokerCheck. Sanchez worked at J.P. Morgan Securities for 11 years, Chase Investment Services for a year prior, and at Wells for a year before that. Leung worked at J.P. Morgan Securities, Chase Investment Services, Wells, and several other firms earlier in his career. Paigen worked at J.P. Morgan Securities for seven years, and before that at TD Ameritrade for six years.
Wells Fargo’s Wealth and Investment Management unit saw revenue increase by 1% in the third quarter, year-on-year, according to its earnings report. Noninterest income rose 5% on higher asset-based fees driven by an increase in market valuations. Net interest income fell 7% driven by lower deposit balances as customers reallocated cash into higher yielding alternatives, as well as lower loan balances, partially offset by the impact of higher interest rates.
3. Robertson Stephens Recruits From Wells Fargo’s Private Bank
Robertson Stephens recruited Jackson, Wyoming-based Tom Bruno from Wells Fargo’s Private Bank. Bruno, who has 20 years of financial services experience, provides investment management, wealth planning and philanthropic strategies to clients.
Prior to Wells Fargo, Bruno ran the west coast region of the business research company FactSet. Last month, Robertson Stephens brought on San Francisco Bay Area-based advisor Joe Delaney, Founder of Lifeguard Wealth, which manages over $100 million. Robertson Stephens has 81 employees and approximately $4.5 billion in AUM across 18 locations nationwide.
“I’m excited to join with Robertson Stephens so that I can continue delivering world-class investment capabilities and white-glove service to my clients,” said Tom Bruno, Managing Director, Principal at Robertson Stephens. “The firm’s client-centric institutional approach to investing and comprehensive planning separate it from other registered investment advisors in the industry.”
4. Coldstream Recruits Washington-Based Advisor To Newly Formed Team
Bellevue, Washington-based Coldstream Wealth Management added wealth manager Kevin Peterson to its team in Kirkland, Washington, that was formed through the recent merger with Seidman Capital Group (SCG), a wealth management firm, and Hersman Serles Almond (HSA), an affiliated business that provides accounting and consulting services.
Peterson oversees $45 million in AUM and has 25 years of experience. He previously was a partner at Bellevue-based The Summit Partners, where he was a financial advisor affiliated with Eagle Strategies, an agent of New York Life Insurance. Last year, Coldstream announced a merger with Kenai, Alaska-based LWM Wealth Management. In 2021, Coldstream announced a merger with Portland, Oregon-based Rosenbaum Financial.
“I love to get into the weeds and build holistic financial plans, ensuring even the smallest details are handled with extreme fiduciary care,” Peterson said. “Coldstream places a premium on that approach, which, along with a supportive culture and smart employee ownership model, will empower me to be the best financial advisor I can be while also improving my own quality of life.”
Mergers & Acquisitions
5. Wealth Enhancement Group Acquires Retirement Advisory Group, 13th Deal Of 2023
Wealth Enhancement Group (WEG) acquired Retirement Advisory Group, which oversees $150 million in AUM. This is WEG’s 13th deal of 2023 and its 15th location in its home state of Minnesota. The Eden Prairie-based team consists of three advisors and two employees, led by founder Terry Kerber, who started the firm in 1992.
WEG serves more than 55,000 households from 90 offices nationwide, and has over $68.3 billion in client, advisory, trust and brokerage assets. Its previous acquisitions this year include Dubuque, Iowa-based Heacock & Jones Financial Services, which has over $355 million in assets; and New Era Financial Advisors, a hybrid RIA with offices in Wayzata and Hutchinson, Minnesota, which manages over $1.1 billion in assets.
“We’re grateful that Retirement Advisory Group decided to join Wealth Enhancement Group,” said Jeff Dekko, CEO of Wealth Enhancement Group. “The team will be able to take advantage of additional resources and support as their business continues to grow.”
Strategic Partnerships
6. Hightower Invests In $2.5 Billion Florida RIA
Chicago-based Hightower announced a strategic investment in fee-only RIA Resource Consulting Group, based in Orlando, Florida, with approximately $2.5 billion in AUM as of June.
Founded in 1988, Resource Consulting Group has 13 CFPs, three CPAs, two attorneys and one CFA. In total, the firm has 17 professionals and 13 support staff. It serves institutions and ultra-high and high net worth households. With AUM approximating $131 billion as of June 30, Hightower provides services at 135 advisory practices in 35 states and the District of Columbia. The firm announced 11 acquisitions this year.
“We were seeking a forward-thinking strategic partner that could help us grow and evolve our business, while allowing us to deliver the same high-quality service to our clients that we’ve provided for 35 years,” said Gregg Biro, President and CEO of Resource Consulting Group. “We are confident that Hightower’s entrepreneurial approach to partnership, coupled with their value-added service model, will help get us there faster.”
7. Abacus Life Launches Wealth Division In Association With Dynasty
Orlando, Florida-based Abacus Life, a buyer of life insurance policies and an insurance-focused alternative asset manager, launched its new wealth division, ABL Wealth, in association with Dynasty Financial Partners.
ABL Wealth will serve life insurance clients who can invest policy proceeds or other assets into diversified and customized portfolios. The new division also will provide retirement planning and risk management. Dynasty will help ABL Wealth build the go-to-market strategy and provide operational support including practice management, marketing, technology, OCFO, compliance, as well as TAMP/investments.
“This launch is yet another illustration of how the independent wealth management space has truly exploded with growth,” said Dynasty Financial Partners CEO Shirl Penney. “[Abacus CEO Jay Jackson] and the team are well-positioned to hit the ground running and we are thrilled to assist them to bring this unique offering to their client base. We look forward to supporting their strategic growth in the years to come.”
8. Atria’s SPF Partners With Bank Of Hawai‘i’s Bankoh Investment Services
Sorrento Pacific Financial (SPF), a broker-dealer subsidiary of Atria Wealth Solutions focused on the credit union wealth management space, announced a multiyear secondary clearing arrangement, commonly known as a “pass through,” with Bankoh Investment Services (BISI), the broker-dealer subsidiary of Bank of Hawai‘i, that will leverage SPF’s wealth management operating platform on behalf of the $23.5 billion financial institution.
Bank of Hawai‘i will maintain its broker-dealer, brand, control and the BISI management team as it outsources the operating platform to SPF. BISI clients will gain access to SPF’s Clear1 client-facing portal and mobile application, and have access to Atria’s Unio platform to integrate their wealth management ecosystem. Atria’s subsidiaries serve almost 2,700 financial professionals with nearly $120 billion in AUA.
“In order to compete and differentiate, firms need to make significant investments in people and infrastructure on an ongoing basis,” said Eugene Elias, Jr., COO and a Founding Partner at Atria. “That has been our commitment at Atria and SPF since day one and that’s what Bank of Hawai‘i will leverage to best serve the evolving needs of their clients.”
Promotions & People Moves
9. Raymond James Independent Contractor President Becomes Advisor Recruiting Head
Raymond James Financial Services announced that Independent Contractor Division (ICD) President Jodi Perry has chosen to leave her position for the newly created role of National Head of Advisor Recruiting. Shannon Reid, the current Senior Vice President and Northeast Division Director, will become the new ICD president and join the firm’s Executive Committee.
Perry joined Raymond James in 1994, where she previously served as an internal sales manager and a regional director. Reid has over 20 years of financial services experience. She previously was Head of Retirement Solutions at Raymond James. Before joining the firm in 2009, she was a vice president at Goldman Sachs.
“Shannon has an impressive background and has been a stellar leader in an important market for ICD,” said Scott Curtis, President of the Raymond James Private Client Group. “I’m confident she will continue to grow the business on the trajectory Jodi set during her tenure.”
Chris Latham, Managing Editor at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at clatham@wealthsolutionsreport.com
