M&A
Sequoia Financial Group
The wealth firm has merged with Wealthstone Advisors.
The combined firm will be based in Akron, Ohio, and operate under the Sequoia brand.
It will offer financial planning, wealth management, asset management and business consulting services to clients and their families.
The merger is expected to close in the second quarter and financial terms were not disclosed.
Wealthstone principals Jim Wyland, Norm Cook, Brian Stertzer, and Jack Zhang will become shareholders of Sequoia.
Upon completion of the merger, Sequoia Financial Group will employ approximately 110 people and have more than $7bn (£5.02bn, €5.78bn) in assets.
Sun Life Financial
The insurance firm has agreed to acquire Pinnacle Care International, a US medical intelligence and health-care navigation provider, for $85m.
Based in Maryland, PinnacleCare has more than 170 employees and 20 years of experience helping people access an initial or second medical opinion to make critical, informed treatment decisions for complicated diagnoses.
The transaction is expected to close in mid-2021.
Wealth Enhancement Group
The independent wealth management firm has acquired Pillar Pacific Capital Management, an independent registered investment adviser (RIA) with locations in northern and southern California.
Led by president and chief executive Mindy Ying, Pillar Pacific’s predecessor firm was founded in 1993 by its current chief investment officer, Arthur French.
Ying will continue with Wealth Enhancement Group as managing director and senior vice president and financial adviser, and French will become the firm’s director of research and senior portfolio manager. The practice will do business as Wealth Enhancement Group.
The firm has seven financial advisers, who provide investment management, financial planning and wealth management services to high net worth individuals, multi-generational families and select institutions in the US, Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in June.
Creative Planning
The RIA firm has acquired Castle Wealth Advisors.
Castle was founded in 1973 by Gary Pittsford, the first president of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (Napfa).
With offices in Indianapolis and Naperville, Illinois, Castle specializes in serving small family businesses and has clients based in all 50 states.
People moves
First Republic Bank
The private bank and wealth management company has hired a seven-member team led by Ed Wentzheimer in New York City.
Wentzheimer was named managing director and wealth manager.
Howard Horowitz, Jeffrey Rozenberg and Michael Yeung were each named senior vice president and wealth manager.
Sebastian Komuda was named vice president and wealth manager.
Amanda Ricchiuti was appointed client relationship director and Lauren Murphy joined as senior client service associate.
They join from Morgan Stanley.
Also, the private bank has hired Dan Jennings as managing director and wealth manager.
UBS Private Wealth Management
The wealth manager has hired three-person team in its south Florida operation.
Led by financial advisers Doris Neyra and Melissa Van Putten-Henderson, the team also includes relationship manager Gina Jamurath.
They join from Wells Fargo.
Rockefeller Capital Management
The financial advisory firm has hired a team in its private wealth operation.
The team is led by John Low, who will serve as managing director and private wealth adviser, and will include Kristen Palazeti, vice president and private wealth adviser, Jennifer Byrne, vice president and client relationship manager and Tori Torango, client associate.
The Coury Firm
The multi-family office has hired Sam Delestienne as managing director of business advisory and Thomas Deutsch as managing director of private wealth.
Delestienne was most recently vice president of corporate development at Wabtec Corporation.
Deutsch spent more than 15 years of portfolio management and investment research at Neuberger Berman, Lehman Brothers, and Matrix Private Capital Group.
RBC Wealth Management
The wealth manager has hired team of financial advisers to its Jericho office.
The MMC Group joins from Merrill Lynch and is composed of:
- Michael Meehan, senior vice president and financial adviser;
- Michael Meyers, vice president and financial adviser;
- Kevin Clark, vice president and financial adviser; and
- Lori Battista, senior client associate.
Raymond James
The financial services firm has hired financial advisers Chuck Rebhan, Kevin Maher, Edward Lombard, and Gregory Lowder in Jacksonville, Florida.
Rebhan, Maher, Lombard and Lowder join Raymond James from Ameriprise Financial Services.
They join the Agility Wealth Management team.
KeyCorp
Joe Skarda has joined the bank as president of KeyBank Wealth Management.
Prior to joining Key, he held positions at JP Morgan Chase, serving most recently as a managing director and head of the bank’s US wealth management central division.
