J.P. Morgan, LPL, Mariner Wealth; news on RIAs for airline and dental pros, and putting numbers to the average portfolio

February 18, 2022 11:23 AM

Merchant Investment Management is investing in a Denver-based RIA that primarily services airline professionals, while Creative Planning is folding in an RIA that specializes in dental workers. Cetera is adding to its business development team. Fidelity Institutional has crunched the numbers on the average portfolio. And in tech news, Shareholders Service Group has a partnership with Advyzon, and Altruist is integrating with Wealthbox CRM.

You’ll also find news on advisors on the move and executive appointments. Scroll through to find what you might have missed this week in financial planning news.

New sustainable investing and ESG executives for J.P. Morgan Private Bank

Close up of signage stands on display outside the JPMorgan & Chase Tower in downtown Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017.

J.P. Morgan Private Bank has hired two executives to newly created roles as the U.S. head of sustainable investing and the global head of ESG investing. Former Calvert Research & Management employee Preeti Bhattacharji took over the U.S. lead role working with advisors and clients on adapting sustainable investments into their portfolios. Dan Rourke, another former Calvert Research & Management employee, joined the firm’s private bank as the global manager overseeing the integration of ESG criteria into investments. Bhattacharji and Rourke report to Jessica Matthews, the firm’s global head of sustainable investing. J.P. Morgan has set a goal of financing and facilitating $2.5 trillion toward investments into climate action, sustainable development and reducing its environmental impact.

RIA hires onetime Bear Stearns trailblazer

NewEdge Wealth, a Stamford, Connecticut-based RIA working with ultrahigh net worth family offices and institutional clients spanning $30 billion in assets, appointed former Union Asset Management CEO Karen Glassman to be a managing director. Glassman started her career in the financial services with Bear Stearns and became the first and only female arbitrage trader in the history of the firm. At NewEdge, Glassman will lead its newly created Global Women’s Initiative, which is aimed at promoting female leaders in the industry. “Based on her extensive expertise, Karen is the perfect addition to our firm,” NewEdge CEO Rob Sechan said in a statement. “Karen is a trusted member of the financial community and an esteemed advisor to prominent clients worldwide. Her experience with C-suite executives and their families, along with women’s advocacy, adds to the strong values of our firm.”

Mariner reaches first deal of 2022

Arbor Wealth Management, a Miramar Beach, Florida-based RIA led by financial advisor Margaret McDowell and her sons Patrick and Andrew, has reached a deal to fold into RIA aggregator Mariner Wealth Advisors. The firm manages $527 million in client assets on behalf of 430 clients, and the deal of an undisclosed amount is expected to close on Feb. 28. “Joining Mariner Wealth Advisors provides access to expanded wealth management capabilities,” Andrew McDowell said in a statement. “We look forward to operating as part of a larger brand and continuing to drive growth under the Mariner Wealth Advisors name.”

Merchant invests in airline industry professional-serving firm

Private financial services partnership Merchant Investment Management has invested in Mountain Capital Investment Advisors, a Denver-based RIA with a specialty in working with airline industry professionals. Co-founder Brandt Burns, a former commercial pilot, leads an 11-year-old firm with $325 million in client assets, as of its latest SEC Form ADV. Republic Capital Group advised Mountain Capital on the sale of the minority stake through the growth investment by Merchant. “The time is right for us to build our business to the next level,” Burns said in a statement. “We needed a growth partner who understood the independent wealth management space and was willing to let us be ourselves and do what we do best.”

LPL recruits 35-year-old practice from Securities America

Financial advisors Guy Blakely and Karl Willard of First Financial Counselors left Advisor Group’s Securities America and chose LPL Financial as their brokerage and RIA, and Synergy Wealth Alliance as their office of supervisory jurisdiction. The Altamonte Springs, Florida-based firm managed $320 million in client assets with its prior brokerage firm after roughly 35 years together as a practice. “[LPL’s] synchronous culture, the character of the advisors and their way of doing business fit us perfectly — and more importantly, we felt our clients would benefit from the transition,” Willard said in a statement. “With LPL’s seamless technologies and operations, we were certain in our belief that this move would help us to better provide for and serve our clients in the long run.”

Creative Planning acquires dental specialty practice

JBJ Invest, a Charleston, South Carolina-based RIA managing more than $735 million in client assets primarily from dental professionals, has folded into RIA consolidator Creative Planning. Led by owner Mathew Emmert, the firm aims to expand further under its new structure with Creative Planning. Investment bank and consulting firm DeVoe & Co. served as the financial advisor to JBJ in the transaction. “I’ve long admired what Peter Mallouk has built at Creative Planning,” Emmert said in a statement. “He’s a pioneer in the independent advisor space who has done extraordinary work on behalf of his clients and employees. The JBJ Invest team is privileged to be associated with this culture of exceptionalism, and we intend to carry it forward.”

Raymond James picks up a quartet of advisors from MassMutual

Raymond James Financial Services added financial advisors Dan Smith, Todd Bryan, Eric Carlson and David Pieronowski of Orlando, Florida-based Signature Wealth Partners. The team, which includes client service specialists Cathy Stockton, Diane Stallard and Elizabeth Hall, managed $227 million in client assets with its prior firm, MassMutual’s MML Investors Services. “We chose to partner with Raymond James because it delivers economies of scale, yet we still maintain our independence so we can be the best advisors for our clients,” Smith said in a statement. “This balance allows us to continue to provide customized solutions for our clients while utilizing all of the resources that come with a firm that manages over 1.2 trillion in assets.”

eMoney upgrades its digital marketing tool

Financial planning software eMoney launched a set of new features for Bamboo, its digital marketing and engagement tool, to help advisors deepen relationships, increase client retention and attract new business. Bamboo now integrates with Redtail CRM, allows for emails to be scheduled to send in the future and lets advisors customize the branding to match their firm.

Fidelity Institutional shares analysis of 10,000 portfolios in 2021

The average portfolio has 14 holdings, seven asset managers and 62 basis points of underlying blended fees, according to the latest annual report from RIA custodian Fidelity Institutional. At least 59% of the portfolios were “moderate or moderate aggressive,” compared to 17% “aggressive” and 24% were described as “conservative or moderate conservative.” On average, the portfolios have five domestic assets, four fixed income, two international and one in alternatives or commodities. “Our analysis shows that professionals have navigated the challenges of the pandemic by following a disciplined investment philosophy, and as we move further into 2022, we will continue to share our analysis to uncover key themes playing out in each asset class and what we believe will be top of mind this year and potentially beyond,” Mayank Goradia, the firm’s head of investment product and portfolio analytics, said in a statement.

Altruist integrates with Wealthbox CRM

Independent advisors using Altruist for custody services can now combine data with information stored in Wealthbox CRM without manual re-entry, thanks to a new integration between the two companies. Advisors can add new clients with a single click and open accounts on Altruist in less than 30 seconds, according to the company. An integration was the most requested CRM among Altruist users, said Altruist founder and CEO Jason Wenk.

Galvin charges PKS Investments for selling unsuitable investments

Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments failed to supervise agents who sold unsuitable investments in leveraged ETFs, according to Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Willam Galvin. According to charges filed Thursday, PKS failed to review transactions effected by agents who were dually registered as independent investment advisors with Harvest Group Wealth Management. Investors lost more than $2.3 million, Galvin’s office alleges. Though FINRA says leveraged ETFs are typically unsuitable for average investors to hold for more than a day, Harvest Group advisors allegedly invested more than 340 client accounts in the products for as long as a year. Galvin’s securities division is seeking full restitution to the investors from PKS.

Vestmark named David Gordon SVP of direct indexing

Vestmark, a provider of outsourced investment management and technology, has named David Gordon as its new senior vice president of direct indexing. Prior to Vestmark, Gordon was the director of the Eaton Vance Institute and vice president in Eaton Vance’s wealth strategies group. Hong will partner with Gordon on leading the company’s development and growth of direct indexing. “In recent years, we have seen more investors demand lower-cost, more tax-efficient investments while seeking the ability to express their personal values — such as ESG preferences — in their portfolios,” Gordon said. “The challenge has been figuring out how to do this in a scalable way. Direct indexing provides an ideal solution.” Last month, Vestmark also named Agnes Hong as chief investment officer and head of advisory services.

Cetera makes a wave of hires to its business development team

Independent wealth manager Cetera Financial Group added eight more recruiting executives to boost its business development team to 25. The new hires include: Jim McMahon, a senior business development specialist with prior tenures at Kestra Financial, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Raymond James and Ameriprise; Liz Seagren, a sourcing and engagement specialist who joined after previous posts with Ameriprise and RiverSource: Insurance and Annuities; and Lee Maxim, an internal business development specialist who joined the firm from Janney Montgomery Scott. "I'm extremely excited about the team of industry veterans we have in place and am confident that we are positioned well to continue to attract financial professionals from across the industry to Cetera” John Pierce, head of business development at Cetera, said in a statement. “We welcome growth-minded financial professionals seeking industry leading resources to Cetera and invite any financial professional contemplating their professional home to engage with our team to learn more."

SSG integrates with Advyzon

Shareholders Service Group, which provides brokerage and custody services to 1,600 RIAs, has a new partnership with wealthtech company Advyzon to let advisors view client holdings, balances, documents and more on Advyzon’s cloud-based software. Advisors can view SSG within the technology and take action with just a matter of clicks. The integration also supports synchronization of custodial documents like tax forms and monthly statements.