UBS' advisor losses mount as $690M team jumps to Wells Fargo

September 19, 2025 3:38 PM

UBS is bent on using its pay policies next year to reward advisors who stay put amid accelerating defections for rival firms.

But it's unlikely the steady stream of exits will abate for at least a while. Both UBS and Commonwealth Financial Network, which has been losing advisors amid its acquisition by LPL Financial, bid farewell to big teams this week. Read about those and other advisor moves below, along with notable industry deals.

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Wells Fargo pulls $687M team from UBS

Advisor departures from UBS continued this week with Wells Fargo recruiting another large team from its wirehouse rival.

A team led by Brad Saler, Steven Kalodner and Michael Coles is joining Wells Fargo in Marlton, New Jersey. They had managed $687 million in client assets at UBS as part of the Frost Saler Coles Wealth Management Group and will join Wells Fargo's private client group, its brokerage channel for employee advisors. Saler started at Smith Barney in 1998 and moved to UBS in 2009. Kalodner started his career in the mid-1980s and moved to Smith Barney in 1989 and UBS in 2012. Coles started at UBS in 2016.

Their departure comes as UBS seeks to stem its advisor losses largely by reversing changes made to its compensation policies this year. On Tuesday, UBS announced it was increasing its payouts to advisors producing between $1 million and $3 million a year in revenue by half a percent. That will undo a change that lowered advisors' pay at various production levels by the same amount this year.

Wells Fargo is one of many firms that have picked up departing UBS teams this year. Last month, for instance, it announced it had recruited to its independent advisor channel a duo who had managed just over $400 million at UBS.

Like most of its wirehouse rivals, Wells Fargo no longer reports advisor headcounts. UBS, in an earnings call in July, reported it ended its second quarter with 5,773 advisors in its Americas unit, which includes the U.S., Canada and Latin America. That was down by 111 advisors from the first quarter of 2025 and by 229 advisors from the second quarter of last year.

Osaic recruits $460M team from Commonwealth

Osaic is racking up wins with advisors from Commonwealth Financial Network amid that firm's absorption into LPL Financial.

Virtus Wealth Solutions, a team formerly managing $460 million at Commonwealth, is joining Osaic in Morgantown, West Virginia. The move follows two other teams, Bridenback Wealth Management and Spear Wealth Management, that also recently left to join Osaic.

Departures from Commonwealth have accelerated amid the firm's acquisition by LPL Financial in a deal valued at $2.7 billion. That purchase officially closed last month.

So far, the biggest beneficiary from Commonwealth departures has been Raymond James. But firms like Osaic have also been aggressively courting Commonwealth advisors who may not feel at home at LPL Financial, which has nearly 30,000 advisors. (Commonwealth's headcount stood at 2,900 when the purchase plans were announced.)

Virtus Wealth Solutions is an all-women team led by the financial advisors Rachel Wood and her in-law Tressa Wood. Rachel Wood started her career in the late 1990s, joining Metropolitan Life Insurance in 1998, MML Investor Services in 2017 and Commonwealth in 2020. Tressa Wood started in the mid-2010s and moved to Commonwealth in 2020 after stints at Ameriprise and other firms.

They're joining Osaic's channel for "supported independence," or advisors who are direct employees. That affiliation option gives the team more options for handing the business down eventually to successors.

LPL snags Edward Jones brokers with $400M in AUM

A pair of former Edward Jones are bringing their practices and asset tallies together at LPL Financial.

Benjamin T.J. Worley and Robert E. Monroe had separately managed roughly $400 million in total for Edward Jones in Dexter, Missouri. They're joining LPL as Worley Monroe Advisors.

Worley started his career at Edward Jones in 1998. Monroe started there in 2014.

Edward Jones reported last month that its advisor headcount increased by 4% year over year in the second quarter, taking the total to 20,309. Its attrition rate for the second quarter was 6.4%, up from 5.3% in the same period last year.

Carson Group buys RIA with $570M in AUM

The RIA-aggregator Carson Group is bolstering its presence in Ohio with the purchase of an advisory team managing $570 million in client assets.

Carson Group, backed by the private equity firm Bain Capital, announced this week that it has bought the Wells Trecaso Financial Group in Akron, Ohio. The terms of the deal were not released.

Wells Trecaso was founded in 2017 by Douglas Wells and Ralph Trecaso, who had both previously worked at Morgan Stanley and UBS. The team includes two other advisors: Christopher Walters and Samuel Trecaso, Ralph's son.

Douglas Wells started his career in 1982 at UBS and moved to Morgan Stanley in 2009. Ralph Trecaso started at UBS in 1985 and moved to Morgan Stanley the same year as Wells.

Carson Group is one of many firms in the wealth management industry that's tapping private equity capital to buy RIAs. The firm now manages more than $48 billion in client assets and has more than 150 advisory offices in its network. Wells Trecaso is the 31st RIA that Carson now wholly owns.

MAI Capital Management scoops up $570M RIA

The RIA aggregator MAI Capital Management is pushing further into California with its purchase of an advisory firm with $570 million under management.

MAI, which is majority owned by the private equity-backed firm Galways Holdings, announced this week that it had bought Summit Financial Advisors, an RIA in San Mateo, California, The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Summit Financial Advisors was founded in 1998 by Rafael Velez, who had previously been at Citi and American Express. The firm specializes in providing advice on equity compensation, concentrated stock portfolios and tax planning.

"Raf and his team share our vision for client-first financial management, and their demonstrated expertise and specialized service offerings will strengthen MAI's presence in California and beyond," MAI Chairman and CEO Rick Buoncore said in a statement.

Summit Financial's move comes after MAI announced last month that it was planning to buy the Los Angeles-based firm Evoke Advisors in a deal that will roughly double its asset tally to $60 billion. MAI Capital Management was founded in Cleveland in 1973 and now manages nearly $32 billion in client assets.

Cetera’s institutional division adds two more bank partners

Cetera Financial Institutions has picked the business of two more banks as part of a bid to work more with regional banking institutions and credit unions.

Kansas-based Peoples Bank & Trust is moving its investment management business, which is called Peoples Financial Management & Planning and has roughly $120 million in assets under administration, over to Cetera from LPL. Similarly, Alma Bank, which serves the New York area, has chosen Cetera as its institutional partners for its investment business, Alma Wealth Management.

Cetera's financial institution division provides various types of support to advisors working at its partner banks and credit unions. The services range from the provision of legal and tax experts to training and help with marketing and regulatory compliance.

Logan Schrag, the executive director of Peoples Financial Management & Planning, said the decision to leave LPL and join Cetera followed a "comprehensive evaluation process."

"As we evaluated the support and resources at our prior broker-dealer, it became clear that they no longer met the high level of responsiveness, attention to detail and service that our financial professionals and clients deserve," he said in a statement. "We wanted a partner who shares our commitment to excellence, and we found that with Cetera."

As for Alma Wealth Management, its move to Cetera is being overseen by Richard Koll, head of wealth management for Alma Bank. Before joining Alma, Koll was senior vice president of client experience in the institutional division of Cetera's independent broker-dealer rival Osaic.

The two new banking partnerships come amid general growth for Cetera's institutional division. Earlier this year, for instance, Los Angeles Federal Credit Union moved its $160 million wealth management business from LPL to Cetera. Cetera Financial Institutions now provides investment support to more than 450 banks and credit unions.

OneDigital sells PE stake, giving it a value of $7B

OneDigital, a financial advisory, insurance brokerage and workforce consultant, is selling a majority stake in itself to Stone Point Capital and another investment firm.

The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, gives Atlanta-based OneDigital an implied value of $7 billion. The purchasers — Stone Point Capital and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) — are buying the stake from a group of current owners that includes the private equity firm Onex Partners. Onex will retain a minority interest in OneDigital, which has roughly $143 billion in assets under management.

"This partnership gives us the fuel to keep building — investing in both people and technology, while sharpening our capabilities and showing up even stronger for our clients," Adam Bruckman, OneDigital president and CEO, said in a statement.

The deal marks the fourth time in OneDigital's 25-year history that it has brought in capital through sales of equity stakes. OneDigital's five primary lines of business deal with: employee benefits and human resources, retirement and wealth management, property and casualty insurance, professional employer organizations and Medicare Advantage benefits. Its RIA, OneDigital Investment Advisors, operates out of Overland Park, Kansas.