Commonwealth, RBC, LPL Financial, breakaways and FPA cancels its conference

August 27, 2021 1:17 PM

Spiking COVID-19 numbers and concerns about the Delta variant have caused the FPA to cancel its September conference. Advisory Services Network topped $5 billion in AUM. And LPL Financial’s Strategic Wealth Services has attracted a dozen breakaways now. Scroll through for a look at what happened this week in the world of financial advice.

RIA aggregator Hightower acquired Denver-based Investment Security Group, a fee-only RIA with about $800 million in client assets, six advisors and four other employees. CEO Mitch Powers, Chief Financial Officer Barbara Krause, Chief Compliance Officer Marc Friedman and Chief Marketing Officer Odette Sahakian form the practice’s executive team. “Hightower’s culture is about entrepreneurship, independent thinking and leveraging the best ideas to foster growth,” Krause said in a statement. “So we can put more focus on serving our clients while gaining capacity to add new ones.” Hightower has more than $125 billion in AUA and more than $100 billion in AUM.

Advisory Services Network, an 11-year-old RIA platform, reached a significant milestone, growing above $5 billion in AUM. The number has grown by $600 million since the beginning of the year and by $1.7 billion since January 2020. More than 40 incoming advisors have tapped into the firm’s outsourced services in the past two years, and the Atlanta-based platform now serves 110 offices with 177 financial advisors. “There is no reason why advisors can’t have access to the best tools and professionals to help them support their clients and grow their businesses, whether they have $300 million in AUM or $15 million in AUM,” founder Tom Prescott said in a statement. “As I have said before, this is still a wildly underserved market for advisors in that asset range.”

The FPA canceled its annual conference, which had been scheduled for Sept. 22-24 in Columbus, Ohio. In a statement, CEO Patrick Mahoney noted “the surge of the Delta variant and concerns over the increasing number of COVID-19 cases across the country.” Dropping one of the industry’s largest events, Mahoney continued, “was a difficult decision for the board to make, but it was the right decision considering the current state of the pandemic and the significant landscape challenges facing in-person events this fall.”

After spending two decades with Edward Jones, financial advisor Troy Aucoin of Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based Aucoin Wealth Management, moved to Commonwealth Financial Network. Support staff member Sharon DeMarte moved with the practice as well. Aucoin managed $157 million in client assets with his prior firm. “As I approached my 20th year as an advisor, I envisioned my next 20,” Aucoin said in a statement. “I needed to make sure this move was right, not just for me, but for my clients as well.”

Midsize independent broker-dealer LaSalle St. Securities picked up a husband-wife practice located near its Chicago headquarters in Libertyville, Illinois. Roger and Rebecca Hannan managed $100 million in client assets with their prior firms, Cetera Financial Specialists and Cetera Investment Advisers. They also have a tax consulting practice called Hannan & Associates. “Joining LaSalle St. marks a new chapter in the history of our wealth management business,” Rebecca Hannan said in a statement. “As we searched the landscape for a new partner firm, LaSalle St. stood out for the way it balances sophistication and scale with a hands-on, can-do approach to accommodating the needs of our clients.”

Kestra Financial’s RIA M&A arm, Bluespring Wealth Partners, acquired Hedeker Wealth, a Lincolnshire, Illinois-based practice with more than $350 million in client assets and led by founder Dean Hedeker throughout its 19-year history. Hedeker is a lawyer and CPA, in addition to being an advisor. “Having diligently served clients for more than 30 years, it was very important to find the right fit as I explored potential partners in the industry,” Hedeker said in a statement. “I now have more time to spend with clients and to mentor younger advisors with many back-office functions off my plate.”

Financial advisor Gerardo “Ardo” Fuentes dropped Merrill Lynch to join Stifel Financial’s branch in Dallas. Fuentes managed $130 million in client assets with his prior firm after 20 years in the industry. His new firm’s four branches in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex have added 16 advisors with nearly $3.3 billion in client assets through recruiting since May 2020, according to Stifel. “Ardo has a great sense of the private wealth landscape,” Branch Manager J.R. Koeijmans said in a statement. “His goal was to find the best place to be a steward of his clients’ assets and their financial futures.”

LPL Financial’s Strategic Wealth Services for breakaway teams has attracted a dozen since its launch last year, most recently picking up advisors Jason Sherr and Merrick Nguyen of StrateFi Wealth Management. The Irvine, California- and Reno, Nevada-based team managed $235 million in client assets with their prior firm, Wells Fargo Advisors. Their 10-year-old practice also includes Director of Client Relations Kim Burdeaux-Neal. “It was not if, but when we would go independent, because we want this to be our last move,” Sherr said in a statement.

RIA aggregator Captrust will have its first location in Chicago after closing its deal to acquire a major practice serving retirement plans, endowments, hospitals and high net worth clients. The firm, Ellwood Associates, has 55 employees and roughly $85 billion in assets from 200 clients. Upon the expected close of the deal in the fourth quarter, Ellwood will be the 51st firm to join Captrust in the past 15 years.

Signage is displayed outside of a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) branch.

A four-person Merrill Lynch team dropped the wirehouse to join the RBC Wealth Management branch in Lake Forest, Illinois. Managing Director Ryan Birkhauser, Vice President John Birkhauser, Associate Vice President Tabitha Kenney and Client Associate Cassandra Spindler managed roughly $500 million in client assets with their prior firm. They now report to Justin Ferdula, RBC’s Chicago complex director. “We were looking for a firm with a smaller feel and strong culture that also shares our focus on the client-advisor relationship, and we found that in RBC Wealth Management,” Ryan Birkhauser said in a statement.