What you missed in wealth management: April 12 to 16

April 16, 2021 10:37 AM

This week, Avantax, Stifel, Allworth Financial and Cetera all added practices, while John Hancock Retirement said it would add all its 401k participants to its personalized retirement-advice program.

Here are some quick takes from the week in wealth management.

Maestro Wealth Advisors (MWA), a hybrid RIA in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with more than $133 million in total client assets, has joined Avantax from World Equity Group and Retirement Wealth Advisors.

The Advisors, a $340 million full-service wealth management practice with offices throughout western Pennsylvania, has joined Cetera. Led by president and financial advisor Bryan David, the firm primarily focuses on retirement, wealth management and estate planning.

Allworth Financial, the Lightyear-backed $10.1 billion RIA, has acquired a $340 million practice in Walnut Creek, California. The advisory practice is run by financial advisor Mark Shone, who serves approximately 300 clients.

D.A. Davidson headquarter building exterior

D.A. Davidson opened up a new wealth management branch with a $400 million advisory team in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The team, which had previously worked at Truist, is comprised of Travis Marshall, Nichole Whatley and Jordan White.

John Hancock Retirement expanded its personalized retirement advice program to include all of its 401k participants, growing its reach to 45,000 total plans, according to the firm. In addition, the company made updates to its website in an effort to provide users information on recommended risk levels and asset allocations prior to registration. "In the most recent John Hancock Financial Stress survey, 87% of workers say that having their retirement savings professionally managed would have a significant impact on how prepared they feel for retirement," said Lynda Abend, the firm’s chief data officer. "As 2020 was one of the most challenging years most people will experience, the expanded and enhanced Retirement Advice program is not only timely but a great solution for participants who want help in making the most of their retirement savings and the peace of mind that comes with partnering with a professional."

Stifel opened a new Private Client Group office in Bryan/College Station, Texas — the seventh office the company has opened in the state since 2019, according to the company. UBS father-son team Kreg and Trace Urquhart, who collectively manage $183 million in client assets, joined the office this week.

If your older clients start slipping on paying their bills, it may be time to gently suggest a visit to the doctor, a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds. Researchers studied 81,000 men on Medicare, finding that, six years before a dementia or Alzheimer’s diagnosis, they began skipping bills; two and a half years before a diagnosis, their credit scores were more likely to crater to subprime levels. “One financial manager said some of her clients try to hide that they’re having trouble handling their finances – or ‘do not want to admit the problem to themselves,’” wrote Kim Blanton of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

Most respondents said they ask managers about settlements and non-disclosure agreements, however survey results suggest that allocators haven’t paid attention to sexual misconduct.

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

Household ETF ownership has surged to 37% as of June 30, 2020, from 30% at the end of 2017, Broadridge’s latest research on U.S. investors found. Report findings also show that while household ownership of A-class shares declined to 39% last year from 43% at the end of 2017, institutional shares surged to 54% from 44%, over the same period.

Advisor marketing fintech Snappy Kraken closed a $6 million round of financing led by FINTOP Capital. Previous investors Flyover Capital and 1248 Holdings also increased their stake in the company. FINTOP’s general partner Rick Kushel will join Snappy Kraken’s board of directors, which already includes Riskalyze CEO Aaron Klein, Marty Bicknell of 1248 Holdings and Mariner Wealth Advisors, and Thad Langford of Flyover Capital.

AE Wealth Management, an RIA with more than 600 advisors, announced that it hired ex-TD Ameritrade Institutional vice president of sales, Erik Blankmeyer, as its new vice president of business development.