Independent BDs

Focus Financial Partners, LLC, the nation’s largest partnership of independent wealth management firms announced the acquisition of Vestor Capital Partners, LLC.

Commonwealth Financial Network, the nation’s largest privately held independent broker-dealer, added Schluchter Investment Advisors, which manages more than $300 million in client assets.

Michael James, a former wealth strategist in Goldman Sachs' mid-Atlantic region, has joined the Philadelphia office of Glenmede, an independent investment and wealth management firm, as director of family wealth advisory.

In a new strategic direction, Washington Wealth Management, a two-year old firm that has been growing on a tear by luring advisors from wirehouses, has joined LPL, bringing $750 million in assets under management to the country's largest independent broker-dealer.

Stanzak, the principal and owner of Financial Empowerment, in Bloomington, Minn., will begin her term on Jan. 1, 2014, when she succeeds Michael Branham, FPA's 2013 president.

LPL Financial announced Tuesday it has expanded its Model Wealth Portfolios platform through the addition of two new portfolios from LPL Financial Research and two managed alternative investment portfolios from Fortigent.

Last month fewer broker-dealers closed their doors and fewer new ones opened them - a drop in overall activity that appears to be the product of three factors, according to David Alsup, director of business development for The Compliance Department, a consulting firm that regularly tallies these numbers.

After the shock of 2008, investors had a generally sunny outlook: they were satisfied with their portfolios and their advisors and the firms that employed them. But that is no longer the case.

Fieldpoint Private, a Greenwich, Conn., based wealth advisory and private banking firm, announced that Susan Hirshman has joined the firm as a managing director and senior adviser.

"We provide all the tools a broker needs to thrive," said Russell Gebhard, president of Sovereign Investment Group in Houston."If the advisor is successful, it's more than likely the clients will be, too."

CFO4LIFE, a Coppell, Texax, financial planning firm with more than $450 million in assets, announced Thursday it is departing from LPL Financial to become an RIA.

In an effort to bolster its recruiting with financial institution, Securities America announced Thursday it has hired William J. Lavender as regional director of financial institutions.

FSC Securities Corp., an Atlanta-based broker-dealer, announced that Eric Burton and Ron Whittingham and their practice, Megent Financial, have joined FSC from LPL Financial.

Delaware Valley, which is based in King of Prussia, Pa., has 24 advisors and $500 million in client assets under management.

Radnor Capital Management LLC of Wayne, Pa., has relaunched as an independent investment advisory firm using Dynasty Financial's open-architecture platform of wealth management services and technology.

The three practices, which have a combined $673 million in assets under management, are now among the more than 540 practices nationally with the independent brokerage arm of Wells Fargo & Co.

Tampa-based JHS Capital Advisors has announced three new hires. Katie White comes from Wells Fargo, Tim Forsman from Sterne Agee, and Matthew Lovett from World Equity Group.

J. Kevin Stophel has moved on after 13 years with the firm to establish an independent wealth practice partnered with Concert Advisor Services and Concert Wealth Management Inc.

Lawson/Wincester Wealth Management is an independent firm in Chattanooga, Tenn., led by Matt Lawson and William F. Winchester, The team also is acquiring the existing practice of Raymond James Financial Services advisor John Goodson in Wincester, Tenn.

To attract more independent advisors, HighTower has introduced two new options, the HighTower Network and the HighTower Alliance. Elliott Weissbluth, the company's CEO, said by adding these channels, HighTower will be able to attract advisors who prefer to continue to own their own practices rather than joining a partnership.