UBS pulls $400M team from Morgan Stanley

UBS pulls from Morgan Stanley, LPL from Wells Fargo: Advisor Moves

Recruiting deals and mergers and acquisitions are constantly roiling the wealth management industry.

Scroll down to read about some of the biggest ones from this past week.

UBS draws $400M team from Morgan Stanley

UBS Private Wealth Management has pulled over a former Morgan Stanley advisory group in Florida.

UBS announced last week that it had recruited an advisory team led by Zachary Sobel, which had managed more than $400 million at Morgan Stanley. It's joining UBS's Florida market, which is led by Lane Strumlauf.

Sobel joined the industry in 2000 and went to Merrill in 2011, according to BrokerCheck. He moved to Morgan Stanley in 2015.

"Our South Florida business has grown significantly in recent years and we are very excited to welcome Zach and his team to UBS," Strumlauf said in a statement.

LPL pulls $250M team from Wells Fargo

LPL Financial has pulled an advisor from Wells Fargo's independent channel in New Jersey.

Justin Lotano comes to LPL from Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, or FiNet, which is the firm's channel for independent advisors. Lotano had previously managed $250 million.

Lotano works out of Colts Neck, New Jersey. Joining him at LPL is the financial advisor Joe Burgard, along with registered representative Kevyn Marteniz and a couple of staff members.

Lotano joined the industry in 2006 at Ameriprise. He moved to Wells Fargo in 2015. Burgard started at Hornor, Townsend & Kent in 2018, moved to Santander Securities in 2018 and joined Wells Fargo in 2024.

Captrust brings on $1.4B RIA

Captrust Financial Advisors' latest acquisition is a $1.4 billion RIA in North Carolina.

Carolinas Wealth Consulting, which does business as Carolinas Investment Consulting, is the latest addition to Captrust, which has bought dozens of firms over the past 15 years. Raleigh, North Carolina-based Captrust now boasts more than $1 trillion in assets under management.

Carolinas Investment Consulting was founded in 2001 by George Edmiston and now has more than $1.4 billion in assets under management. The acquisition closed in January, and the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"George and I have been friends and competitors for over 20 years," Captrust co-founder and CEO Fielding Miller said in the announcement. "CIC has had a sterling reputation in the Carolinas, which will immediately improve our market opportunities and elevate our brand."

Carolinas Investment Consulting gives Captrust a second location in Charlotte, according to the announcement. As has happened in the firm's previous acquisitions, Carolinas Investment will take on the Captrust brand.

Exec moves: Mercer Global adds new head of M&A deals

Mercer Global Advisors has hired a former law firm to head up its merger and acquisition deals.

Mercer Global announced that it has hired Ted Motheral to be its principal of M&A partner development. He joins from Potomac Law Group, where he was corporate and M&A partner.

Motheral will work on mergers and acquisitions alongside Martine Lellis, who has the same role.

"Ted has built a reputation as a skilled M&A practitioner with an impressive track record of guiding wealth management firms through complex transactions," said Dave Welling, CEO of Mercer Advisors. "His significant technical acumen in helping businesses position themselves for success and first-class standard of care fit well with our culture and partnership mindset."

Motheral has more than 20 years of experience as an attorney. Besides mergers and acquisitions, he has expertise in private debt and equity financing.

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