$10B South Dakota advisory team breaks from bank to launch RIA

A trio of advisors who oversaw $10 billion in assets at First National Bank in Sioux Falls, South Dakota have left to launch Prairie View Wealth Partners, aiming to capitalize on a tax-friendly state where registered independent advisors remain scarce. 

The new SEC-registered RIA is led by co-founders Adam Cox, Kyle Cipperley, CFA, and Paula Bindert, CPA/PFS. Cox was most recently First National Bank’s chief wealth management officer and had been with the Sioux Falls bank since 2016, while Cipperley joined in 2009 and Bindert in 2022. Prairie View Wealth Partners will custody assets with Raymond James. Cox told InvestmentNews that his team grew from $3.7 billion in assets under advisement to over $10 billion in his decade at First National Bank.

“South Dakota has really attracted a ton of financial services firms because of our regulations and friendly laws. We have over 100 trust companies in Sioux Falls alone, and tons of banks, credit unions, brokers. But for whatever reason, the independent channel really hasn't taken off here yet,” said Cox. “So we see that as an incredible opportunity to say, we can offer the fiduciary standard like a lot of the banks do, but we can also build a unique business that is specific for wealth management clients, and do so free of the traditional conflicts that exist in other financial institutions.”

South Dakota has no state income tax and is known for its highly favorable trust laws, including asset-protection provisions that have made it a major U.S. hub for irrevocable trust domiciles. However South Dakota had just 81 RIAs according to 2024 Form ADV data analyzed by the Investment Adviser Association, ranking as the fourth fewest among all states in front of only North Dakota, Alaska, and West Virginia.

“I've watched over the past number of years waiting for RIAs to start to crop up or to move into the space, and they really haven't, so we're excited about that opportunity,” said Cox. “Being independent allows you freedom to build the business you want to build without distraction. It allows you ownership in what you're building, which I think clients also appreciate, because they know you're going to be there and in it for the long haul.”

Prairie View Wealth Partners positions itself as a tax-planning focused firm, guided by Bindert as she’s a 30-year tax veteran who operated her own tax and accounting firm before joining First National Bank. The software tech stack for Prairie View includes Wealthbox as its CRM, Raymond James for portfolio management, Holistiplan for tax planning, and Exhibit A to craft client-facing presentations and charts. 

Cox has been the host of his personal finance podcast Common Cents on the Prairie, which won its category at the Advisor Podcast Awards in 2022. Under his new RIA, Cox plans to launch a new podcast with a new name. Upon the launch of Prairie View, Cox said he and his team did not have discussions with existing clients surrounding their transition.

“The way we're going to explain it to clients is, if the shoe were on the other foot and I were the client, this is the model I would choose for an advisor relationship. I would want to work with people who have as much experience as the three of us have with the alignment around creating a client experience so good that our clients can't help but tell other people about it and have technical expertise that helps them do whatever it is they need,” said Cox. “We're owners, so our clients should feel that we're going to be there for the long haul, and that should give them some peace of mind knowing that no one is more interested in their success than we will be.”