M&A
Wealth Enhancement Group
The independent wealth manager has joined forces with Walnut Creek Wealth Management, a hybrid registered investment adviser (RIA) firm headquartered in Walnut Creek, California.
The firm has three financial advisers that collectively oversee nearly $1bn (£730m, €850m) in total client assets.
Walnut Creek is Wealth Enhancement Group’s 12th transaction announced in 2021.
Founded in 1992, Walnut Creek is led by chief executive and principal Bernard Smit and includes principals Damien Couture and Debbie Pursey, as well as five additional employees.
The firm specialises in financial planning, wealth management and asset management for corporate executives; single, divorced and widowed women; physicians; and business owners.
Walnut Creek’s office is Wealth Enhancement Group’s fourth location in California, following its June acquisition of Pillar Pacific Capital Management, with offices in San Marino and Pacifica, and its July acquisition of Los Angeles-based Oakwood Capital Management.
After the deal completes, Walnut Creek is doing business as the Walnut Creek Team at Wealth Enhancement Group.
Smit, Couture and Pursey serve as senior vice presidents and financial advisers. As part of the transaction, the practice will transition its brokerage assets to LPL Financial.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
MAI Capital Management
The RIA firm has acquired Geier Asset Management and Geier Financial Management, which does business as Winpoint Financial.
The acquisition extends MAI’s footprint to the Greater Baltimore region and strengthens MAI’s presence in the mid-Atlantic region.
Based in Marriottsville, Maryland, Geier AM provides financial planning and wealth management services to wealthy individuals and families. It was founded in 1999 by Joseph Geier, who continues to lead the firm along with vice president Brian Woods.
The Winpoint Financial arm is dedicated to serving the financial planning needs of Major League Baseball athletes. The professional athlete focus complements MAI’s Sports + Entertainment vertical, and the team will work closely with Steve Trax, MAI’s regional president and head of MAI Sports and Entertainment in Reston, Virginia.
The entire Geier AM team will become employees of MAI. Geier will assume the role of senior managing director and regional president, while Woods will serve as managing director and senior wealth adviser.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Focus Financial Partners
The independent partnership of wealth management firms has agreed to buy Kansas City-based RIA company The Planned Approach.
The Planned Approach will join Focus partner firm Buckingham Strategic Wealth.
This transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Founded in 2002 by Stephanie Guerin and Kelly Hokanson, TPA is a fiduciary firm offering wealth management services to professionals, retiring business owners, executives, and other high net worth clientele in the greater Kansas City area and elsewhere in Missouri.
Sanctuary Wealth
The wealth manager has acquired a stake in Los Angeles-based multi-family office InnoVise Family Wealth Advisors.
Formerly known as Audent Family Wealth Advisors, it took on a new name to launch this new partnership.
This investment will facilitate the launch of Sanctuary Global Family Office and complement Sanctuary’s other recent expansions into international family office services, including the opening of the Miami office and focus on serving the Latin American markets.
InnoVise is run by managing partner Brian Weiner and co-founder and partner Michael Winn.
Concurrent with the announcement of the partnership, Michael Pagano joins InnoVise Family Wealth Advisors as chief operating officer from City National Bank, where he was executive vice president, head of private banking.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Coldstream Wealth Management
The wealth manager has merged with Portland-based firm Rosenbaum Financial.
Rosenbaum Financial will operate under the Coldstream brand, and all its employees will remain in place.
Upon completion of the merger, the combined firm will have 30 financial advisers, 112 employees and manage over $6.7bn in assets.
Mark Rosenbaum will lead Coldstream’s team Rosenbaum as relationship manager and team lead after serving as Rosenbaum Financial’s president and chief executive.
Kim Rosenberg will be relationship manager and wealth planner for team Rosenbaum.
Benjamin F Edwards
The wealth firm has agreed an affiliation with Lexington-based Elkhorn Private Wealth.
Elkhorn will now have access to Edwards’ full suite of back- and middle-office capabilities while maintaining complete ownership of their practice.
Led by founder and managing partner Larry Crosthwaite, Elkhorn has a total of four employees, two of whom are financial advisers.
With this new affiliation, Elkhorn is Benjamin F Edwards’ first presence in Kentucky and is the fourth advisory firm to affiliate with Edwards Wealth Management since 2019.
People moves
Fidelity Investments
The financial services firm has appointed Joanna Rotenberg as head of its personal investing division, effective early November.
She joins Fidelity from Toronto-based BMO Financial Group, where she has been serving as group head of wealth management since 2016.
Rotenberg succeeds Kathy Murphy. Earlier this year, Murphy announced her decision to step-away from her role before the end of the year.
Tanglewood Total Wealth Management
Former Tiedemann Advisors chief investment strategist Paul Buongiorno has joined the firm as co-chief investment officer.
He will share the position with Tanglewood founder John Merrill.
Aspiriant
The independent wealth management firm has named Lynne Born as chief practice officer.
She joins Aspiriant from Silicon Valley-based RIA Wealth Architects, where she served as president of the firm.
Robertson Stephens Wealth Management
The firm has opened an office in Boise, Idaho. Wealth managers Rick Polenske and Steve Devejian will join as managing directors and principals.
They will be joined by their colleague Danielle Bugni.
Sendero Wealth Management
The partner-led wealth management firm in San Antonio has hired Edward Stepanow Jr as chief financial and operating officer.
He served previously as chief financial officer for MediciNova, a California-based biopharmaceutical company.
Klingenstein Fields Advisors
The advisory firm providing wealth and investment management services has named Alyssa Gelper as a managing director and senior adviser.
Most recently, Gelper was with HSBC Private Bank as head of US collaboration.
Crewe Advisors
The Utah-based RIA firm has hired a Scottsdale-based team spun out of BMO Wealth Management.
The team joining Crewe Advisors is composed of partners Jason Miller and Kris Yamano, who will add to Crewe Advisors’ leadership, along with partners and advisers Duncan Corley and Louise Goudy, and senior associate Kimberly Mawk.
RBC Wealth Management
The firm has recruited an eight-member team to its Portland branch with more than 150 years of combined experience and $1bn in assets.
The Inter Alia Group comes to RBC Wealth Management from Merrill Lynch.
It includes:
- Stephen Groth, managing director and financial adviser;
- Patrick Cummings, managing director and financial adviser;
- Robert Chavez, senior vice president and financial adviser;
- Katrina Stump, first vice president and financial adviser;
- Susan Junell, senior registered client associate;
- Mimi Jue, senior registered client associate;
- Deborah Jenkins, senior registered client associate; and
- Rachel Akerson, senior registered client associate.
Raymond James
Financial adviser Alberto Sisso has joined the firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sisso joins Raymond James from Wells Fargo, where he previously managed approximately $200m in client assets.
Also, Raymond James hired financial adviser Nick Peregoy.
Joining from PNC Investments, Peregoy previously managed approximately $102m in client assets. He operates as Nick Peregoy of Raymond James at the firm’s Louisville branch.
The firm has also hired financial advisers Peppi Talley and Jessica Hall in Birmingham, Alabama. Operating as Talley and Hall Wealth Management of Raymond James, the group joins from BBVA.
