A father-son duo who were part of the transition of financial advisors from First Republic to JPMorgan left the megabank to join up in a newly rebranded office of Steward Partners.
Zach and Barry Berg dropped JPMorgan Securities for Steward's brokerage and registered investment advisory firm as the new Palm Beach Gardens, Florida-based office of G2G Wealth Management at Steward Partners, the firms told Financial Planning this week. With the addition of $175 million in client assets coming into G2G as part of the move, the practice of eight advisors and other employees now manages $377 million under founder Chuck Miller, whose son Dalton started at the firm this past summer, he noted in an interview.
"The most important part I learned years ago in the business was, never be a jack of all trades, master of none," Miller said. "With Zach and Barry coming on to complement what we're doing currently, we are a team to be reckoned with."
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With thousands of advisors in motion each year between firms of various sizes or launching entirely new ones at various stages of their careers, "everybody's different," said Zach Berg. But the answers fall into place "if you have the opportunity to be able to provide your clients with great service and an excellent platform," he said in an interview.
"That's really the most important thing. Everything else will come together," Berg said, noting the impact to the clients. "As life changes for them and their needs change, we'll be way more available to adapt to their changing needs."
Representatives for JPMorgan declined to comment on the advisors' departure. Other ex-First Republic teams have also opted out of JPMorgan, although the megabank's takeover during last year's regional banking crisis has added to its ranks of advisors.
The younger Berg, Zachary, began his financial services career with Credit Suisse in 2011 before moving to First Republic in 2015 and JPMorgan a year ago, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. His father started his finance tenure 31 years ago. They formally affiliated with Steward's brokerage and RIA on Nov. 7.
Steward Partners itself left Raymond James' brokerage in 2022, but it kept using the firm's custodial and investment platform services. Berg and Miller specifically cited the capabilities available to the advisory practice from Raymond James as a key advantage to their clients.
"They can see how excited we are, and it makes them very confident in what we do," said Miller, who brought his Dalton and Kennesaw, Georgia-based team to Steward Partners from Wells Fargo Advisors last year, when the practice was known as Miller Family Wealth Management at Steward Partners. "It's just a win-win for us."
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Large breakaways from giant wealth management firms often begin by drawing advisors from their prior brokerages because "so much recruiting happens off of built relationships and trust," according to Jodie Papike, CEO of recruiting company Cross-Search. The ability "to lure new advisors who don't have that history and don't have that relationship" and strike M&A deals represents a greater ability to compete with the giants in a tough race for talent, she said.
"That will be the first round of success, but any group that gets to that first round of success has to get to that second round," she said. "That's where it can be a little bit tricky. It's so competitive."
New York-based Steward launched in 2013, and the firm now has 60 offices, 250 advisors, $38 billion in client assets and 553 employees with stakes in the firm as partners. It has received a minority-stake investment of $50 million by The Cynosure Group in 2019, another minority-stake influx of $100 million from The Pritzker Organization in 2021 and a credit facility of $140 million led by Apogem Capital in 2022. Steward has set a goal of reaching $1 billion in annual revenue after moving into M&A deals and enabling RIA-only registration with the firm in recent years.
"When Chuck Miller and team joined us nearly one year ago, it marked Steward Partners' first Georgia partner, so it's only natural that the Bergs' remote G2G office denotes our first Palm Beach Gardens presence," Steward Head of Wealth Management Jeff Gonyo said in a statement. "This unique Georgia/Florida team is a testament to Steward Partners' platform, which allows for the teams to spread across state lines but operate with complete cohesion and connectivity through a supportive infrastructure."
