Wells Fargo's indie channel nabs $1B Amerprise team: Advisor Moves

September 12, 2025 12:51 PM

Wells Fargo comes out on top in advisor moves this week with a team managing $1 billion pulled from Ameriprise.

But mergers and acquisitions were also big news in wealth management this week. Cerity Partners picked up a large firm in New York, and Beacon Pointe added firms in Indiana, Washington State and New York. Read about those deals, plus notable executive moves, below.

Kristina Blokhin - stock.adobe.com

Wells Fargo pulls over $1B team from Ameriprise

Wells Fargo's independent channel has picked up a prominent advisory team in Indiana from Ameriprise.

Clearwater Private Wealth Advisors, a large team with 11 advisors and its main office in Indianapolis, is joining Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, or FiNet. The group had formerly managed nearly $1 billion at Ameriprise.

Clearwater Private Wealth is led by a pair of longtime advisors: Gregg Keele and Ryan Perkins. Keele started his career at Ameriprise in 1997 and Perkins started there in 2001, according to BrokerCheck.

At Clearwater, Keele oversees a team comprising the advisors Philip Christner, Aaron Austin and Ben Hoenig. Perkins' team consists of the advisors Kevin McKay, Laura McMahon, Ed Puglise, Drew Baker, Tom Russell and Mason Whitted. Clearwater has three offices in Indiana.

"As our client base moves up market, affiliating with Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network (FiNet) represents a strategic and natural progression for our business and ultimately allows us to serve our clients with even greater breadth and depth," Perkins said in a statement.

Cerity Partners buys RIA with $4.5B in assets

The private equity-backed RIA consolidator Cerity Partners is extending its reach in New York with the acquisition of the registered advisory firm Graypoint.

Graypoint, based in Albany, New York, manages more than $4.5 billion on the behalf of its clients. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Graypoint, which works with more than 60 nonprofit groups in and around New York's capital, will take on the Cerity Partners brand, and Graypoint President and CEO Daniel Nolan will become a partner and vice chairman at Cerity.

Besides nonprofit groups, Graypoint also specializes in working with wealthy clients, institutions and corporate executives, a boon for Cerity's Workplace Solutions division.

Cerity Partners, which hass $133 billion in client assets, was founded in 2009 in New York and was originally supported by the billionaire Howard Milstein, now the president and CEO of New York Private Bank & Trust. Cerity sold a majority stake to the private equity firm Genstar Capital in 2022 and later a smaller stake to the PE firm Lightyear Capital.

Beacon Pointe adds more than $1B in AUM through three deals

The RIA rollup Beacon Pointe is pushing its assets under advisement to nearly $48 billion with its acquisition of firms in Indiana, Washington State and New York.

Alderfer Bergen, which has $650 million in client assets, gives Beacon Pointe its second practice in Indiana. The firm operates out of Warsaw, Indiana, and specializes in helping professionals in the orthopedic industry. It's led by the partners and managing directors Alan Alderfer, Michael Bergen and Jason Gergely.

Separately, Moser Wealth Advisors, with $270 million in client assets, joins Beacon Pointe in Bellevue, Washington. The firm specializes in combining tax planning and wealth management. The firm was founded in 2006 by Scott Moser and also includes Stephanie Salmon, a certified public accountant, and Jean Pierre "J.P." Pedinielli, an investment advisor representative, along with various staff members.

Meanwhile, Amore Ambro, with $165 million in client assets, has joined Beacon Pointe in Jericho, New York. The firm was founded in 2018 by Louis Ambrosio and specializes in working with retirees, families and business owners.

Beacon Pointe was founded in 2002 in Newport Beach, California, and sold a stake in itself in 2021 to the private equity giant KKR in a deal that then gave it an implied value of $1 billion. Beacon Pointe has more than 600 employees and 75 offices, all in the U.S.

Bernstein Private Wealth hires managing directors from UBS, Northern Trust

Bernstein Private Wealth Management, a division of the asset manager AllianceBernstein, has hired managing directors to oversee key markets in Texas and Colorado.

Gregory Kadet will lead the firm's private wealth office in Denver, and Cecily Bolding will take the helm of the firm's Dallas office. Their new roles will have both Kadet and Bolding working with advisors who mainly serve wealthy clients.

Kadet has more than 30 years of industry experience. Before joining Bernstein, he was the managing director and market head for the greater Florida area at UBS, where he oversaw 350 employees and over $50 billion in assets. He was also previously a regional sales manager at UBS, where he worked with 1,000 financial advisors in seven states.

Bolding has two decades of industry experience in wealth management and most recently was a managing director at Northern Trust, where she was responsible for the firm's Dallas market. She began her career as an analyst at Frost Bank.

Both Kadet and Bolding will report to Adam Sansiveri, regional senior managing director at Bernstein.