$2B ex-UBS advisor joins old colleagues at breakaway RIA

“You want on the one hand to keep getting a relatively decent yield from your investments, but also protect your portfolio against short-term bouts of volatility," said Maximilian Kunkel, chief investment officer for Germany at UBS Wealth Management.
Bloomberg News

A heavy-hitting former UBS advisor has joined an independent firm founded by several of his former colleagues, who defected from the same wirehouse several years ago.

Steven Mitchell, who oversaw $2 billion at UBS, joined Procyon Partners in New York, according to the firm. It was founded by ex-UBS advisors in conjunction with Dynasty Financial Partners in 2017.

Mitchell focuses on investment advice for ultrahigh-net-worth families in the areas of private and institutional assets.

“I have always been intrigued with being an independent advisor and believe Procyon gives me the best opportunity to add that ultimate value for my clients," he said in a statement.

The New York-based advisor had been with UBS since 2008, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records. Prior to that, he was registered with Lehman Brothers.

Mitchell left UBS at the end of May, according to BrokerCheck.

After Procyon’s launch, UBS sued the firm, accusing several of its former employees of violating the Broker Protocol by aggressively soliciting its clients. A judge turned down UBS’ request for an injunction.

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Later that same year, the wirehouse left the protocol, which permits brokers to take basic client contact information with them when switching employers.

At UBS, the Procyon team managed more than $8 billion in institutional assets and more than $400 million in private wealth assets, the firm said at the time of its launch.

Today, Procyon has a total of $3 billion in assets under advisement, according to the firm which maintains locations in New York and Shelton, Connecticut. It caters to retirement plans, plan participants and private clients.

A UBS spokeswoman declined to comment on Mitchell's departure.

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