After merging with another practice to create a firm with more than $850 million in client assets, a Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network team is bolting for Triad Advisors.
Brian McCarver, Jonathan Freeman and Jim Kampstra of Stonebridge Financial Group are joining Triad, a subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann and
The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-area team added Kampstra’s practice in the Nov. 1 merger. By moving to Triad, the Gettysburg-based practice, Ferrara Kampstra Wealth Management, will leave its previous broker-dealer, Geneos Wealth Management.
Their decision followed almost two years of “careful, diligent research of the available options in the advisory marketplace,” according to an
The team decided to leave Wells Fargo after its
“They don’t have to worry about all of the nuances of running and operating their own RIA,” says LaRosa, who assisted Stonebridge in its IBD search. “Once they started to see what was really out in the space and how much more independent they could be by not being on the Wells Fargo FiNet platform, it really opened their eyes to how much their business can grow.”
Stonebridge had been one of FiNet’s top 25 practices, he adds. Representatives for Wells Fargo didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the team’s move.
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Stonebridge, which has its headquarters just outside Harrisburg in Wormleysburg, has two locations after the merger.
The team added all employees of Ferrara Kampstra, the practice led by Kampstra and his wife Kelly. The team has yet to affiliate with Triad, but Geneos President Ryan Diachok issued a statement confirming the move and wishing them well.
“While we are disappointed to lose such a high quality wealth management firm, we fully support James Kampstra’s decision as he has been looking for a merger opportunity for some time now,” Diachok said, adding that Stonebridge “presented him with an opportunity to strengthen and build his team and ultimately reach his long-term goals.”
The combined practice includes seven producing advisors and 19 employees, according to Freeman. About $450 million of the client assets, roughly half its total, come from advisory assets under management, and some $300 million is from corporate retirement plans, he says.
The team will use TD Ameritrade as custodian for the AUM and Fidelity’s National Financial Services for brokerage business. Access to better trading tools, portfolio models and other kinds of technology helped drive their move, according to LaRosa.
McCarver officially aligned with Triad on Oct. 15, while Freeman came to the firm’s new IBD on Oct. 31, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. The 20-year industry veterans came to Prudential Securities in the early 2000s and remained through its transitions to Wachovia Securities and Wells Fargo.
Triad’s services “better enable Stonebridge to offer customized client-centric products, services and comprehensive wealth management solutions,” the team said in the announcement. “This affiliation also gives the flexibility to choose from a multitude of custodians and technology vendors.”
Partnering with Triad will "help expand their product and solution set, as well as empower them to pursue their growth strategy with first-class technology and operational support," Triad Hybrid Solutions CEO Michael Bryan said in a statement.
"Triad prides ourselves not only on our ability to bring the best advisors to our platform, but on our ability to help them realize their full potential, as well," he said. "We are very excited to work with Stonebridge to help them achieve their long-term goals.”
