What you missed in wealth management: May 17-21

May 21, 2021 11:01 AM

Edelman Financial Engines acquired Viridian Advisors, which manages $850 million; Dynasty Financial Partners said it’s sponsoring three local pro athletes; Raymond James is upgrading its digital marketing for its advisors; and UBS hired two Northern California advisor teams away from Merrill Lynch. Here’s what’s news and other quick takes from the week in wealth management.

New York-based Lionheart Wealth Management is now affiliated with Ameriprise’s independent franchise channel after leaving Equitable Advisors. Anthony DeAngelo’s team includes advisors Frank D’Erasmo and Samuel Dicocco and executive assistant Aneta Szatkowski.

Financial advisors Frank Hanna and Bryan Cogliano of RevolutionX left Lincoln Financial Network for Arkadios Capital. The Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based duo managed $400 million in client assets after seven years with their prior firm. A midsize independent broker-dealer, Arkadios has more than 80 advisors and $4.25 billion in client assets.

Raymond James’ 150-person Marketing + Agency Solutions division unveiled a series of new services and technology upgrades aimed at boosting digital marketing for practices. “We remain dedicated to offering a portfolio of industry leading, advisor-centric marketing solutions to support advisors’ business goals and assist them in strengthening their client relationships,” Lisa Turley, senior vice president of advisor marketing, said in a statement.

Edelman Financial Engines made its first acquisition deal nearly three years after the $3-billion merger that launched the firm. For an undisclosed price, the RIA, robo advisor and 401(k) firm is buying Bothell, Washington-based Viridian Advisors. The tax and wealth management firm manages nearly $850 million on behalf of more than 800 clients. Private equity firm Warburg Pincus valued Edelman at $7.3 billion when it agreed to purchase a minority stake in the firm in March.

UBS grabbed two major teams from Merrill Lynch in Northern California under Erin Borger, its regional head of the market. Advisors Jason Arnold, Tom Mulvaney, and George Chuchas joined the firm’s Roseville branch. The trio managed $725 million and generated $4.7 million in trailing-12 revenue with their prior firm. In San Francisco, advisors Nancy Barrett, Amanda Woo and Michelle Harvey also moved from Merrill to UBS. The team manages more than $2 billion in client assets.

RIA platform Dynasty Financial Partners unveiled sponsorship agreements with three professional athletes who either live in the area of its St. Petersburg, Florida headquarters or grew up there: professional tennis player Danielle Collins, IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais and PGA golfer Chase Koepka. With the year-long deals, the firm is “spreading our brand into the mindshare of the end consumer on behalf of our partner firms in a form of ingredient marketing,” Dynasty CEO Shirl Penney said in a statement.
In addition, Dynasty also announced a partnership with Eaglebrook Advisors to offer separately-managed cryptocurrency accounts to RIAs in its network.

Advisors Maynard Azose, Amanda Johnson and Nick Fuller of Spokane, Washington-based Azose Johnson & Associates left Waddell & Reed for Advisor Group’s largest independent broker-dealer, Royal Alliance Associates. The team manages $168 million in client assets.

A five-advisor team named Knowlton, Knowlton, & Larsen in Boston dropped UBS for Rockefeller Capital Management. Laurence Knowlton’s team includes Griffin Knowlton, Wyatt Larsen, Jennifer Pearson and Sophia Morgan. They report to Rockefeller Managing Director Michael Parker.

LPL’s largest hybrid RIA, Private Advisor Group, appointed four new senior executives as the firm’s assets under management topped $26 billion. The new hires are: Compliance Director Raphiella Adamson; Managing Director Kelly Coulter; Director of Advisor Growth and Engagement Anne Mortera and Compliance Director Cari Smith.

Erin C. Berry is the new Head of Business Development at New York City-based American Capital Management, which manages $3.4 billion. She was previously Head of Northeast Sales and Relationship Management at Cohen & Steers.

The Raymond James employee channel added a quartet of advisors from Wells Fargo Advisors who managed $468 million in client assets with their previous firm. Augusta, Georgia-based financial advisors Martin Ferrara (at left), James “Bubba” Helton, Justin Preissler and James McGee of Cypress Wealth Group of Raymond James now report to Mid-South Regional Director Deborah Cicatelli.

Credit Suisse analyst Craig Siegenthaler downgraded LPL Financial's rating to "neutral" after the firm's valuation caught up to its growth, he said in a note. LPL was trading in 2018 at a ratio of 9- to 11-times its earnings per share estimates, making it the lowest priced brokerage in the firm's coverage. Now, it's closer to 16x or 17x, which is significantly higher than rivals Raymond James at 14x and Stifel Financial at 12x.

When it comes to using ESG data in their investing strategy, financial advisors are more likely to integrate the metrics than institutional investors, according to a new survey by RBC Global Asset Management. At least 76% of advisors said they had adapted the data to client portfolios, as opposed to 65% of institutional allocators. Just 12% of the advisors said they were "very" satisfied with the amount of ESG disclosures by funds and publicly traded companies, though.

Financial advisors James W. Taylor and Robert Mosesian of the Taylor Group left UBS for J.P. Morgan Advisors, bringing Investment Associate Aaron Nardozza and Senior Client Associate Abigail Globsky with them. The Boston-based team reports to Regional Director Rick Penafiel. With UBS, they managed $750 million in client assets and generated trailing-12 revenue of $3.7 million.