Raymond James, RBC, Hightower, plus recruiting roundups and SEC charges

January 7, 2022 6:20 PM

Dennis Moore of Mercer Advisors is the new president of the Financial Planning Association, stepping into the role on Jan. 1. Janney Montgomery Scott wrapped up a year of positive recruitment efforts. Cetera’s acquisition and recruitment efforts in 2021 brought in an additional $47 billion. An advisor is accused of defrauding the elderly. Executives were appointed and advisors changed firms across the country. Scroll through to find what you might have missed this week in financial planning news.

Private equity-backed RIA consolidator Mariner Wealth Advisors closed out 2021 with its 13th acquisition of the year on Dec. 28, acquiring Concord, New Hampshire-based Granite Investment Advisors. The fim, led by Chief Investment Officer Scott Schermerhorn and financial advisors Martha Cottrill and Ed Taylor, manages $1.3 billion on behalf of 470 clients. Cottrill and Taylor merged their practice with Granite’s existing one as part of the deal. “I am excited to be coming together with local industry peers whom I have always greatly respected,” Cottrill said in a statement. “I know we will be able to build a phenomenal New Hampshire and Massachusetts business together with Mariner Wealth Advisors.” Leonard Green & Partners-backed Mariner has 63 offices nationwide with more than $55 billion in client assets.

The research and education foundation of the Congressional Black Caucus selected impact-focused asset management firm Pivotal Advisors to be the nonprofit institution’s outsourced chief investment officer. With much more discussion of how firms’ and organizations’

selections of professional vendors

in areas like portfolio management, law and accounting affect the demographics of industries and

Black generational wealth

in America, the firm led by 16-year veteran Tiffany McGhee will oversee the investments of the nonprofit wing of the influential group of lawmakers. The firm describes itself as the “first and only OCIO firm owned by an African American and Afro-Latina woman.” The firm is honored to be the foundation’s choice, McGee said in a statement. “We look forward to our relationship and to protecting and growing CBCF’s assets through our proactive and ESG-focused approach to funds management,” she said.

Hightower, a private equity-backed RIA consolidator, ended 2021 with the acquisition of a firm managing more than $1 billion in client assets. In a deal that closed Dec. 31, Hightower acquired TC Wealth Partners, a Chicago and Downers Grove, Illinois-based wealth management, trust and retirement company with $1.65 billion in client assets. The deal includes the incoming firm’s subsidiary, Trust Company of Illinois. CEO William Giffin leads a team of 30 employees working with more than 800 clients. “As a business with a robust roster of affluent client families and a diverse range of institutional clientele, we have ambitions to grow our footprint and expand our capabilities — though of paramount importance to us is keeping the boutique feel of our business and our relationships,” Giffin said in a statement. “Joining Hightower – a large, institutional-class RIA – allows us to leverage their operational infrastructure, strategic guidance, talent and business development capabilities so we can focus on what we do best: helping people in need of wealth management advice.” Hightower spans 122 advisory offices nationwide with more than $104 billion in client assets.

EP Wealth Advisors, a major fee-only planning firm that’s backed by financial services holding company Wealth Partners Capital Group, finished 2021 by making two deals acquiring practices with a combined $828 million in client assets. On Dec. 22 in a deal of undisclosed size, Berkeley, California-based Mindful Money joined the firm, bringing EP its seventh new practice in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2021 and four new incoming advisors. In the second deal of an undisclosed amount on Dec. 28, EP acquired a Kirkland, Washington-based team with four advisors who had previously been affiliated with Soundmark Wealth Management. EP has made 21 transactions over the past five years, and the firm manages $13.3 billion in client assets. Advisors Todd Flynn, John Buller and Jonathan DeYoe lead the two new practices that joined EP.

Raymond James added teams to its employee brokerage arm, Raymond James & Associates, managing a combined $880 million in client assets out of offices in Florida and Idaho. The four financial advisors joining in Idaho under Michael O’Meara, the director of the firm’s northern division, are: Greg Fairfield, Linda Stirling, Christine Satterfield and Harry Tharp. Fairfield and Stirling, a mother-son team, left UBS while Satterfield and Tharp exited from Wells Fargo Advisors. In Florida, Raymond James added advisors Mike Bedsole, Michael Fenn and Ofer Levy under Bert White, the firm’s regional director for Florida. Levy came from Merrill Lynch, Bedsole dropped Truist and Fenn left Cetera Investment Advisors prior to joining Raymond James. Their new firm has 8,500 financial advisors with $1.22 trillion in total client assets.

A Cleveland-based RIA named MAI Capital Management, which is backed by financial services distribution company Galway Holdings, has unveiled two incoming practices joining its ranks since mid-December. In New York, Monarch Business & Wealth Management and its strategic partner Regal Wealth Management added $163 million to MAI’s more than $12 billion in client assets. Monarch founder Barry Klarberg has served clients including musical artists, actors and professional athletes for 35 years. He’s also a limited partner of the New York Yankees and is part of the ownership of the Memphis Grizzlies and New York City FC. In the other acquisition of an undisclosed amount, MAI purchased a practice with about $725 million in client assets led by Madison, Connecticut-based financial advisor Patrick Gingras. “Patrick exudes all the qualities we value in advisors at MAI, and we are thrilled to add his extensive experience to the team,” MAI Managing Partner Rick Buoncore said in a statement. “I’m confident he will not only integrate seamlessly with his client-focused approach to advising, but also grow MAI’s presence in New England.”

OWS-HilltopSecurities real estate 04/23/19

Midsize employee and independent brokerage Hilltop Securities appointed Bob Pineda, the former J.P. Morgan Securities executive director of managed account operations, to be its co-head of operations alongside Chief Operating Officer David Holleran. With 25 years of industry experience including tenures at Scottrade, TD Ameritrade, E-Trade and State Street, Pineda reports to Holleran. “Bob brings decades of experience as a wealth management and brokerage operations executive to Hilltop Securities," Holleran said in a statement. “We’re fortunate to welcome such an accomplished professional and look forward to his leadership and insight.”

Pedestrians carry umbrellas while walking past Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) signage displayed at the Royal Bank Building during the company's annual general meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on April 6, 2017. RBC Chief Executive Officer David urged lawmakers to coordinate interventions and act quickly to cool housing markets, particularly in Toronto and Vancouver. Photographer: Cole Burston/Bloomberg

Employee brokerage RBC Wealth Management appointed 30-year veteran executive Richard Beckel, who joined the firm in 2017 after spending 20 years with Ameriprise, to be the head of its practice management, teams and portfolio efficiency group. The team includes a half dozen consultants who assist advisors with strategies aimed at growth, better client experiences, and more loyalty and retention among their base. Beckel previously served as a senior consultant with the group. RBC advisors who work with portfolio efficiency coaches generated more than 1 ½ times the asset growth and two times the production growth of peers who don’t, according to an internal study by the firm. “Richard’s deep experience helping advisors navigate the challenges and see the potential in their business is an asset to the division that is focused on helping teams reach their maximum potential,” Ann Senne, the firm’s head of advice and solutions, said in a statement.

Private Wealth Asset Management, an

RIA launched in September

by former Wells Fargo Private Bank advisors, added another team from its former firm with about $700 million in client assets. Financial advisors Michelle Acton, Bryan Jarman and Gayle Fincher joined in Midland, Texas, adding the firm’s third location in Texas and marking a half dozen teams to join the firm since it opened last year. “We are very pleased to be opening a Private Wealth office in Midland,” Acton said in a statement. “Families who have realized tremendous success from and place great value on all that the land in West Texas provides. We share their desire to continue to grow and give back to the community we all love.”

An asset manager named Bóveda Asset Management and its owner, George Kenneth Witherspoon, face SEC

charges

alleging that the company failed to provide the requested books and records during one of the regulator’s examinations. In addition, the regulator accuses the firm of not properly registering with the SEC due to failing to meet the requirements, keeping custody of client money without proper safeguards, and making material misstatements and omissions in its Form ADV. The SEC filed the civil case in Atlanta federal court on Jan. 4.

The SEC charged a second former investment professional with defrauding clients who were primarily older adults investing their retirement savings as part of a $40 million fictitious certificates of deposit scheme. The regulator charged Allen C. Giltman with fraud on Jan. 5, nearly two years after charging Denis Sotnikov in connection with the same scheme. Giltman allegedly bought internet ads that targeted investors looking for CDs and included links to fake websites. In carrying out the scheme, he impersonated registered representatives of real firms when the clients called the listed phone numbers and misappropriated their money for his own use, according to investigators. Giltman has already pleaded guilty to fraud in a parallel case in New Jersey federal court. “Protecting retirees and older adults reliant on their investments is one of the most important missions of the Commission,” Anita Bandy, the SEC’s associate director of enforcement, said in a statement. “We will continue to use every tool available to hold bad actors who use elaborate means to avoid detection accountable for preying on U.S. investors.”

Acquisition and recruiting brought $47 billion in client assets to independent brokerage network Cetera Financial Group in 2021. The majority came from private equity-backed Cetera’s purchase of certain assets from Voya Financial Advisors in June, when 90% of the advisors and 93% of the client assets came to the firm under the new name of Cetera Wealth Partners. Female advisors manage about $1.2 billion out of the $10 billion in organic recruited client assets in 2021, and the firm added about $2.5 billion overall in the fourth quarter. “In 2022, we plan to grow even more by expanding our recruiting team to continue to attract high-quality financial professionals who value a sense of community and industry-best solutions, resources and support,” John Pierce, Cetera’s head of business development, said in a statement. Genstar Capital-backed Cetera has more than $120 billion in assets under management across five brokerages in its network.

Employee brokerage Janney Montgomery Scott unveiled the results of its recruiting efforts last year. The firm launched a half dozen new branches in Morehead City, North Carolina, Roanoke, Virginia, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, Columbus, Ohio, Richmond, Virginia and Duluth, Georgia. The 50 incoming financial advisors manage more than $9.3 billion in client assets at 27 branches in all. The group represents the most advisors joining the firm in a single year since 2018 and the most recruited client assets ever for Janney. Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo each lost 13 advisors to the rival brokerage, followed by eight leaving Truist for Janney and four each from Raymond James and Morgan Stanley. “As evidenced by our impressive recruiting efforts, Janney continues to offer a compelling alternative for wirehouse and independent advisors,” Jerry Lombard, president of the firm’s Private Client Group, said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing our momentum in 2022.”

The investment program of a massive credit union serving military servicemembers and veterans has a new name. Navy Federal Financial Group has changed the name of its brokerage and RIA to Navy Federal Investment Services from Navy Federal Brokerage Services. The Vienna, Virginia-based company’s credit union opened in 1933, and it now has 11 million members as the world’s largest credit union. “The decision to rebrand the investment and advisory services business as NFIS was made in part to more closely align the name of the company with the range of services and products needed by our members,” Diane Young, chief operating officer of Navy Federal Financial, said in a statement. “We are honored to continue meeting our members’ investment planning needs, and excited about this refreshing change.”

Financial advisors Patrick McGrory and Erin Mendez of Liberty Point Advisors dropped Ameriprise for LPL Financial as their brokerage and Independent Advisor Alliance as their office of supervisory jurisdiction. The Vineland, New Jersey-based firm includes four other employees, and the practice managed more than $315 million in client assets on behalf of households in 23 different states with its prior brokerage. In addition to the two leaders, the 5-year-old firm includes financial advisor Ian Klinger, paraplanner Nancy Mastrolia, client relationship manager Lisa McLinden and practice manager Alyssa McAllister. "Ultimately, it came down to what was best for our clients,” CEO Patrick McGrory said in a statement. “We did our due diligence, interviewing nearly 20 firms, and found IAA’s experience and knowledge most aligned with our needs and goals.” Independent Advisor spans 150 partner firms with $15 billion in client assets.

Financial advisor Dennis Moore of Mercer Advisors took over as president of the Financial Planning Association on Jan. 1. Moore has served as a member of FPA’s board for the past four years and acted as chair of its Pro Bono Advisory Committee, in addition to being the chair of the Texas Tech University Personal Financial Planning Alumni Advisory Board’s mentor committee. He came to Mercer last year as part of its acquisition of Dallas-based Quest Capital Management. He was president-elect of FPA in 2021 as well. “I’m looking forward to executing on the initiatives we’ve been working on over the past year, including our value proposition, technology enhancements for our chapters, and other initiatives that will bring value to our chapters and members,” Moore said in a statement.

Mark Zichterman, Greg Mulder, April Scholten, Kristen Kragt and Kamarie Bloemendal of NorthCoast Wealth Advisors left Raymond James & Associates for Stifel Financial’s Private Client Group in Holland, Michigan. The team managed $276 million in client assets with its prior firm. In Michigan over the past five years, Stifel has recruited 43 advisors with more than $6 billion in client assets under Regional Director Alvin Spencer. “While we are thankful for almost 15 years of partnership with Raymond James, we were looking for a partner that would enable us to offer the personalized service of a boutique wealth management firm while maintaining and expanding on the capabilities we have grown accustomed to providing for our clients,” Zichterman said in a statement. “At the same time, we wanted to keep our independence as a wealth management business.”

Financial advisor Frank Lundy of Columbia, South Carolina-based Columbia Capital Partners dropped Wells Fargo Advisors for Advisor Group’s Royal Alliance Associates as its brokerage and Cline Financial Partners as its office of supervisory jurisdiction. The team managed $125 million in client assets with its prior firm. "As I considered switching to the independent channel, it quickly became clear that partnering with Advisor Group, Royal Alliance and Cline Financial Partners was the right choice for Columbia Capital Partners,” Lundy said in a statement.

Financial advisors Jim Harvey, Bill Driver, Michael Maehl and Andrew Harvey of Seattle and Spokane, Washington-based Opus 111 left Advisor Group’s Securities America for Commonwealth Financial Network. The team managed $195 million in client assets with its prior firm. “I approach my business as clients first, my team second and myself third,” Harvey said in a statement. “Commonwealth has the service and scale to support our kind of client, and we’ll apply their expansive tools and resources to keep our practice running efficiently and to ensure we’re as connected to our clients as ever.”

A Focus Financial Partners-owned RIA named Relative Value Partners recruited former Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth principal Rebecca Deaton and her team of a half dozen employees. The team includes Director Ruth Uress, Vice President Jennifer Davis, Vice President Whitney Spalding Spencer, Vice President Kate Glanz, associate Quinn Martin and client service administrator Alexandrea Smith. Their new firm, Relative Value, is located in the Chicago area in Northbrook, Illinois. “My colleagues and I are excited to hit the ground running and begin contributing to the history of success at RVP,” Deaton said in a statement. “With such a strong, reputable firm, we’re ready to solve whatever financial puzzles our clients might encounter.”

Pittsfield, Massachusetts-based financial advisor Corey Phillips dropped Guardian Life Insurance’s Park Avenue Securities for LPL Financial. The practice managed about $115 million in client assets with its previous firm. Phillips became an advisor in 2014 after getting his first business experience when he owned a small liquor store and a collection of rental properties with his father and brother. As part of the move, he merged his practice with that of another former colleague from his time at Park Avenue, advisor Alex Kastrinakis. “I believe my clients will now enjoy an effortless and intuitive investing experience, and I have all the necessary capabilities to diversify investment options, maximize my clients’ return potential and differentiate my practice,” Phillips said in a statement.

M&A advisory and executive search firm Gladstone Group has appointed longtime wealth management executive Derek Bruton as a senior managing director. With prior tenures at Merrill Lynch, TD Ameritrade, LPL Financial and Chalice Wealth Partners, Bruton will manage Gladstone’s strategic growth consulting division while contributing to the M&A and executive recruiting services offered by the Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania-based firm. “Derek is a tremendous asset to our team — his strategic insight and counsel will be invaluable for our clients navigating their next stages of growth,” Dan Kreuter, the founder of Gladstone Group, said in a statement. “As accelerating M&A in the industry collides with a challenging labor market, Derek’s expertise in both areas, together with his reputation for delivering results, will further elevate the work we do on behalf of our clients.”