UBS loses $2B team to Sanctuary Wealth: Advisor Moves

May 9, 2025 3:03 PM

Business people having casual discussion during meeting

In another busy week for advisor moves, Sanctuary Wealth and a firm in the Dynasty Financial network picked up teams with AUM tallies well in excess of $1 billion.

Wells Fargo and LPL Financial also touted recruiting wins, while Citi and Charles Schwab made some key hires. Check it out below.

Sanctuary picks up $2B team from UBS

The RIA aggregator Sanctuary Wealth is adding a former UBS team to its list of partner firms.

The newly recruited group — 1280 Financial Partners — has offices in Fort Meyers and Miami, Florida; Sandusky, Ohio; and Augusta, South Carolina. It had previously managed roughly $2 billion at UBS. The team's name refers to the 1,280-mile distance between Fort Myers and Sandusky.

The group is led by managing partners Tom Burt, Duane Ohly, Charlie Todd and John McGee. Joining them are Brett Kinzel, John Petracco, Carol Powell and Richard Allen Flippo, as well as various support staff members.

Burt started his career at Morgan Stanley in 1983 and moved to UBS in 2012, according to BrokerCheck. Ohly started at Merrill in 1992 and moved to UBS in 2009. Todd began at Morgan Stanley in 1980 and went to UBS in 2006. And McGee has been at UBS since 2012, following two years at Morgan Stanley.

1280 Financial Partners specializes in working with high net worth and ultrahigh net worth clients, including athletes, entertainers, entrepreneurs and corporate executives. It also has an institutional consulting division, which provides asset management services to insurance, corporate, government, nonprofit and endowment clients.

Sanctuary Wealth now encompasses more than 120 partner firms in 30 states and oversees roughly $50 billion in client assets. Sanctuary receives financial backing from the asset manager Azimut and private credit manager Kennedy Lewis Investment Management.

$1.5B team jumps from Morgan Stanley to Dynasty Financial firm

Americana Partners, a Houston-based firm affiliated with the Dynasty Financial Partners network, has acquired an advisor team formerly at Morgan Stanley.

The group, which is also based in Houston, had managed roughly $1.5 billion in client assets as AHM Group at Morgan Stanley. It includes the advisors Palmer Moldawer, Will Carsey and Will Gutkowski, as well as the staff member Kayla Sickman.

Moldawer joins Americana as a managing director and private wealth advisor. He has 35 years of industry experience, including 15 years at Morgan Stanley. Carsey, now a senior vice president and private wealth advisor at Americana, spent 12 years at Morgan Stanley. Gutkowski will be a senior vice president and private wealth advisor at Americana and joined Morgan Stanley in 2018.

Americana President Ron Thacker noted in a statement that the team has a strong reputation for working with ultrahigh net worth clients in Texas and elsewhere. Both Thacker and Americana CEO Jason Fertitta also have ties to Morgan Stanley.

Before starting Americana in 2019 with $2.6 billion under management, Fertitta had served as a managing director in Morgan Stanley's private wealth division. Thacker joined him in 2021 after working as a managing director and regional director at Morgan Stanley.

Americana received an investment from the private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners in October. It has $10 billion under management, according to a statement.

Dynasty Financial provides technology, investment management, marketing, compliance and other services to nearly 60 RIAs with 500 advisors with more than $105 billion in assets under administration. Dynasty has financial backing from the private equity firm Abry Partners, as well as Charles Schwab.

Wells Fargo recruits teams with $500M in AUM from PNC, UBS

Wells Fargo is adding to its channel for direct employee advisors with recent recruits from PNC Investments and UBS.

The Bautista, Lehan & Reiser Group is joining Wells Fargo in its Cincinnati offices. The team had formerly managed about $400 million in client assets at PNC Investments.

It's led by the advisors Al Bautista, Chris Lehan and Edward Reiser, and is supported by Senior Client Associate Natalie Byrd. Bautista started his career at PNC Securities in 1992 and returned to the firm in 2004 after stints at other wealth managers. Lehan began at PNC Securities in 2012, Reiser started his career in 1983 and moved to PNC in 2013 following affiliations with a lengthy list of firms.

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo recruited Harish Jashnani, an advisor managing more than $120 million in assets, to its offices in Paramus, New Jersey. Jashnani had previously been at UBS and at Morgan Stanley before that.

Jashnani is the fifth advisor to join Wells Fargo's Paramus office since late last year. In December, for instance, the firm recruited a pair of advisory teams that had formerly managed nearly $625 million at UBS in Paramus.

LPL picks up $300M team from Osaic

LPL Financial is bolstering its presence in New Jersey with a team of 10 financial advisors drawn from Osaic.

Northern Advisory Group is joining LPL's offices in Fairfield, New Jersey. The 10-person group had previously managed roughly $300 million at Osaic.

Northern Advisory Group was established in 2004 by Richard DiTaranto, Brian DiBrino and Jeff Miller, who collectively bring eight decades of experience in wealth management. DiTaranto started his career in 1998 and was later at SII Investments for 14 years. In 2016, he joined American Portfolios Financial Services, which was bought by the firm that would eventually become Osaic in 2022.

DiBrino started at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in 1997, was at SII Investments from 2007 to 2015 and moved to American Portfolios in 2016. Miller started at SII Investments in 2008 and joined American Portfolios in 2016.

Coming with them to LPL are the financial advisors Anthony Fresella, Daniel Greenwood, Griffin Durand, Robert Kelley, Seamus Nelson, Jaret Mittenthal and Damien DiTaranto, who is the son of Richard. The principals at Northern Advisory said they decided to join LPL Financial following an extensive evaluation of their options. Their choice ultimately hinged on LPL's service capabilities and its advanced technology, they said.

Citi picks up head of capital markets from JPMorgan

Citi has turned to J.P. Morgan Private Bank to hire a new global head of capital markets for its wealth division.

Russell Budnick is scheduled to start at the position in August 2025, reporting to Keith Glenfield, Citi's head of investment solutions. Budnick was most recently global head of market strategy and trading in J.P. Morgan Private Bank's capital markets group. Budnick started his career at JPMorgan in 2005.

Citi also recently turned to JPMorgan to hire Marc Turansky, now head of investment advisory. Turansky had spent 12 years at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management as head of advisory programs.

Glenfield, who was recruited from Merrill in 2024, said, "Citi Wealth possesses leading capital markets capabilities, insights, and solutions that are fundamental to serving and expanding our global ultra high net worth client base."

Charles Schwab recruits for advisor service role from LPL

Charles Schwab has enticed a former employee to return to fill a new role charged with supporting its largest and most complex advisory firm clients.

Julian Lopez was recruited from LPL Financial to become Schwab's first managing director of relationship management. Before joining LPL, where he was an executive vice president for relationship management, Lopez had been at Schwab for 23 years.

Lopez's new position is in Schwab's Advisor Services unit, which provides more than 15,000 independent RIAs with custodial services, technology and other types of support.

Executive moves: Diamond Consultants moves ahead with succession plan

The industry recruiting firm Diamond Consultants is moving forward with a succession plan as its founder steps down as CEO.

Mindy Diamond, who started the firm in 1998, will become chair of Diamond Consultant's board. Succeeding her as CEO will be her son, Louis Diamond, previously president of the firm. Mindy's other son, Jason Diamond, will now step into the president's role. His previous title was executive vice president.

Mindy Diamond will also continue to work with select advisor teams and present her expertise, notably through "The Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors." Over the past decade, Diamond Consultants has helped with the transition of more than $350 billion in assets under management.

Louis Diamond has been with the firm for over a decade and had served as president since 2021. He oversaw the start of Diamond Consultants Executive Search Partners, which helps firms hire into leadership and other roles. He held wealth management support roles at Morgan Stanley and UBS, as well as experience at the consulting and accounting firm EY.

Jason Diamond joined the firm four years ago after working in Merrill's capital markets group and served as a vice president at Morgan Stanley, working with structured investments for ultrahigh net worth clients.