What you missed this week in wealth management: May 31-June 4

June 4, 2021 2:57 PM

LPL Financial joins the Fortune 500, Bob Doll starts at Crossmark Global Investments as chief investment officer, and Ohio and Oregon raffle off 529 college scholarships for teen residents who get COVID vaccines. Here's more on those stories, plus other recruiting moves and quick takes from the week in financial advice. Scroll down to see what's happening.

Advisor Ashley Dusek’s Longview, Texas-based Benchmark Financial Services left Avantax Wealth Management for LPL Financial and its corporate RIA. The practice managed $150 million in client assets with their prior firm, and the team includes advisors John Cotten, Alan Goodman, Randy Monk and John Ussery as well. For their office of supervisory jurisdiction, they chose Financial Advocates.

Northwestern Mutual opened a new office in Ontario, California, under Managing Director Amber Romo, who will lead a team of a half dozen representatives. The firm plans to cater to local Hispanic and Asian American clients as part of Northwestern’s growth ventures unit focusing on recruiting and client growth in underrepresented communities. Northwestern has $290.3 billion in total assets, $29.9 billion in annual revenue and $1.9 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force.

With an eye toward informing clients of the cost of their investments, the North American Securities Administrators Association released an advisory bulletin about fund expense ratios. “While it is often tempting to make a purchase based on a fund’s historical performance, informed investors know that past performance is no guarantee of future performance, and that they must review a fund’s prospectus, shareholder reports and portfolio holdings to see if the fund’s risk/return profile aligns with theirs,” NASAA says. “An informed investor will pay particular attention to a fund’s expense ratio, which, over time, can eat into a fund’s earnings significantly.”

Former U.S. Bank executive Jill Henson joined Covington, Kentucky-based RIA Journey Advisory Group as a senior advisor. She’ll operate from the firm’s Blue Ash, Ohio, office and work closely with CIO Eric Pettway and lead client advisor Ed Haberer. The merger of three practices created the RIA last year.

Thrivent Advisor Network hired Ryan Armock as director of operations. Armock was previously chief operations officer at Private Client Services, an “RIA-friendly” broker dealer. “Ryan brings operations experience and problem-solving ability to Thrivent Advisor Network that will be invaluable in fostering our further growth. He’s also a leader with a strong personality, great interpersonal skills and an infectious can-do attitude,” said Luke Winskowski, senior vice president, advice and wealth management at Thrivent. After a nationwide search, the new executive, who started his career as an advisor at AXA, lives just 10 minutes from the “purpose-driven” fiduciary platform’s Appleton, Wisconsin office.

Robert (Bob) Doll

Chris Goodney/Bloomberg News

Bob Doll will take over as chief investment officer of Crossmark Global Investments, a “faith-based boutique investment management firm” based in Houston. Doll previously held senior posts at Nuveen Asset Management, Blackrock, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and OppenheimerFunds. A four-decade veteran of the asset management industry, Doll is known for his annual list of 10 investment themes.

When Ohio adolescents aged 12 to 17 receive a COVID vaccine, they can participate in their own flavor of the state’s $1 million Vax-a-Million lottery, registering to win free tuition plus expenses at a public university in the state. The lucky winner’s four-year scholarship will be parked in the Ohio 529 plan until they go to college. More than 100,000 Ohio kids are already signed up, wrote 529 consultant Andrea Feirstein in a client note. A similar Oregon campaign will give five $100,000 scholarships, held in the state’s own 529 plan, to young residents who get vaccinated.

LPL Financial added SmartAsset’s prospecting tools to its Vendor Affinity Program offering discounts to the firm’s nearly 18,000 advisors. Users of SmartAsset’s personal finance website connect with fiduciary financial advisors through the company’s SmartAdvisor service, and the company recently launched a new tool called Live Connections enabling what SmartAsset describes as a “warm transfer” of the prospect to the advisor. The average SmartAsset user is 57 years old with investable assets of $890,000, and more than three-fourths don’t have an advisor.

Advisor Gordon Reynolds of Tucson, Arizona-based Ridgway Private Wealth left Wells Fargo Advisors after nearly two decades with the wirehouse to go independent with Kestra Private Wealth Services. The practice manages $150 million in client assets.

Ex-Raymond James & Associates broker Annette Alexander of Portland, Indiana-based Compass Wealth Solutions went independent with Advisor Group’s Woodbury Financial Services. The team includes advisor Tamra Kaufman and Registered Portfolio Design Director Brandon Mock, Executive Service Director Paula Sibery and client service associate Dylan Franks. Compass Wealth managed $221 million in client assets with their prior firm of 21 years.

A little more than 10 years after LPL Financial went public, the firm made the Fortune 500 for the first time in its history. The announcement also came roughly a month after the firm’s total client assets passed $1 trillion for the first time. LPL’s annual revenue has surged by more than a third in the past three years to a record $5.9 billion in 2020.

Former Focus Financial Partners co-head of M&A and business development Vamsi Yadlapati has joined the board of Cetera Financial Group. “This is an outstanding addition to our board and Vamsi’s impressive background and expertise will complement our focus on growth,” Cetera CEO Adam Antoniades said in a statement. “As we continue to pursue a strategy that accelerates growth for our network of financial professionals, we are also seeking to acquire firms both in the independent broker dealer as well as RIA spaces. Vamsi’s long history in the financial services industry, along with his keen eye for deals that drive synergies for all parties involved, make him a valuable part of our board.”

Emigrant Partners-backed Stratos Wealth Partners, an LPL Financial hybrid RIA, recruited advisor Scott Gegerson of Truvium Wealth Management. The Garden City, New York-based team managed $120 million in client assets with its prior firm, Park Avenue Securities. The practice changed IBDs as part of a succession plan for founder Nick Palumbo, who’s remaining a strategic partner after the move.

Two practices affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network are merging together under Gottfried & Somberg Wealth Management in Glastonbury, Connecticut. The firm has $1.4 billion in client assets after advisors Barbara Taylor and Terran Titus of ClearGuidance Financial folded their practice into Gottfried & Somberg.

Compliance and cybersecurity wealthtech company RIA in a Box announced a product for RIAs that automates the archiving and review process for website content, social media and emails. Supervisors can designate keywords for the software to flag in digital client communications, and apply filters that RIA in a Box says will simplify the task of collecting and retrieving data for compliance review or regulatory examinations. The product is available as part of RIA in a Box’s MyRIACompliance platform for SEC and state-registered firms.