$275M Ameriprise team bolts for LPL

An Ameriprise team that managed $275 million in client assets joined LPL Financial, according to their new company.

The team, Socratic Wealth Advisors, consists of five ex-Ameriprise advisers: Chris Demarest, Murat Kaptanoglu, Andrew Lipson, Conley Perry and Brad Williams. They affiliated with Independent Advisor Alliance, an independent advisory firm on LPL's hybrid RIA platform.

LPL Financial by Bloomberg

The group says they made the move for the independence and technology the independent broker-dealer would provide.

"By joining IAA and LPL we have the ability to serve our clients' best interests and also gain access to the choice and flexibility to be able to offer investment solutions that address the unique needs of each client," Kaptanoglu said in a statement.

The advisers all started their careers at Ameriprise. Four of the advisers worked at the firm for nearly two decades, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records.

A spokeswoman from Ameriprise could not be reached for immediate comment.

LPL, the nation's largest independent broker-dealer with over 14,000 advisers, has continued attracting teams looking to go independent. In May, a Merrill Lynch team that managed $420 million launched a boutique practice with LPL because of perceived disruption caused by the fiduciary rule.

"With the increasing regulatory changes, LPL has been seeing a flight to quality by advisors in the independent space,’" Craig Kamis, LPL's executive vice president of business development, said in statement.

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