RIAs

Industry veteran John Sullivan is joining Dynasty Financial Services as senior vice president, RIA and Transition Services.

If a potential breakaway broker of a larger firm were to sit down and think of all the negative considerations in starting his own RIA firm, it would be hard to imagine that any sensible person would venture into that type of quagmire. However, with all these potential risks facing a prospective breakaway broker, there exists an opportunity for the established RIA firm.

In a study of 1,025 independent RIAs, Schwab found that a client retention level of 97% helped to drive client referrals and to produce record levels of AUM and revenues last year.

Eugene M. Lerner has spent his six-decade career in the financial services industry trying to stay ahead of the curve. His decision to leave Morgan Stanley for HighTower speaks to where he thinks the industry is heading in the near future.

Fusion offers practice management and business consulting to independent financial advisors. NFP hopes the deal will increase its margins by next year.

The Raleigh, N.C., company hired Charles Pendergraft, John Zachary Carnes, Cort Meinelschmidt, Chelsea Miller, J. Marshall Culp 3d, and James Beam.

In an effort to enhance the technology it offers for personal financial advice delivered to the mass market, NestWise LLC, a unit of LPL Financial, will buy Veritat Advisors.

“The relationship with Orizon will allow us to provide focused, innovative wealth solutions to clients in an increasingly diverse geographic area, which is something our clients have been requesting," said Martin C. Bicknell, Mariner's CEO.

Savant Capital Management and The Monitor Group, two independent fee-only RIAs, announced that they have finalized the merger of their firms to officially become Savant Capital LLC.

The Salt Lake City-based bank is ramping up its wealth management business with the support of third-party marketing firm PrimeVest Financial Services.