New additions at Sanctuary Wealth, Baird, and UBS this week underscore the continued scramble for advisors across the RIA, broker-dealer, and wirehouse channels.
Sanctuary said independent advisor Bryan Blackburn has joined Alluvial Private Wealth, an enterprise partner firm on its platform. Blackburn previously oversaw more than $190 million in client assets at Carnegie Investment Counsel.
Blackburn is taking on the role of vice president, wealth advisor, and co-owner of Alluvial’s Cleveland business, expanding the Marion, Ohio-based RIA’s footprint to two locations and lifting total client assets to more than $1.2 billion.
Alluvial was founded by Lars Olson, who launched the firm with Sanctuary in 2021 after leaving Merrill Lynch with a $435 million book of business. Olson positioned Blackburn’s arrival as "an exciting step in Alluvial’s strategic growth plan,” noting that the firm aims to add at least one successful practice to its team each year.
Blackburn, who has nearly 20 years of industry experience and prior roles at Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo, framed the move as a cultural and philosophical fit. "[Olson and I] share a holistic financial planning approach and a focus on helping clients approach wealth management decisions with confidence as opposed to leaving them to chance,” he said.
The transaction was supported through Sanctuary’s Enterprise Partner Program, which provides capital and operational help to partner firms pursuing inorganic growth. Olson was among the first advisors to earn the enterprise partner designation and has continued to expand via acquisitions and partnerships under the program.
Sanctuary broadened its affiliation options in 2024 by acquiring tru independence, giving advisors multiple models to access its platform. The network now includes more than 125 partner firms in 32 states, with over $55 billion in assets on and in transition to its platform.
Baird is deepening its presence in northern Virginia with the addition of Ken Murray as director and financial advisor in its Fairfax wealth management office.
The Fairfax branch, which opened in January 2024, has become a key part of Baird’s private wealth strategy in the state, alongside locations in Alexandria, Lynchburg and Richmond. Murray will be supported by associate financial advisor Paul Brick and client assistant Rebecca Fakhar.
Murray joins from Edelman Financial Engines, where he managed $320 million in client assets, and brings more than two decades of experience. Earlier in his career, he worked at Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.
For Baird, the hire adds immediate scale to a relatively young office in a competitive suburban Washington, DC, market. It also offsets another move this week in which a $670 million team in Texas transitioned to RBC.
Baird’s private wealth management business includes nearly 1,400 financial advisors with an average of 20 years of industry experience, serving clients nationwide with more than $350 billion in client assets as of June 30. Across all business lines, the firm has more than 5,300 associates and oversees upwards of $525 billion in client assets.
UBS is continuing to build in the Pacific Northwest with the hire of Jeff Miller as a financial advisor in its Bellevue, Washington, office.
Miller joins UBS Global Wealth Management US from Morgan Stanley in nearby Kirkland and will operate as the Miller Group within the firm’s Pacific Northwest market, which is led by market executive Robert Giordano.
The Morgan Stanley hire brings more than 18 years of experience working with high-net-worth families, entrepreneurs, and corporate executives, with an emphasis on personalized, goal-based planning and portfolio management.
“Jeff’s track record of building deep client relationships and delivering disciplined, goal-based advice makes him an excellent fit for UBS,” said Cy Aleman, market director in the Pacific Northwest region, adding noting how the combination of advisor autonomy and global resources at the firm appealed to Miller.
Miller’s group includes registered client associate Diana Mendoza, who has 15 years of industry experience, and client relationship manager Kelley Miller.
Wealth strategy associate Laura Besaw, who joined UBS in 2022 and has 10 years of financial services experience, will also be part of the team.
Meanwhile, Ameriprise has added a Florida-based veteran formerly with Oppenheimer just as it loses a similarly seasoned professional to Prudential Advisors in New Jersey.
Goldman's asset management arm is deepening its options-ETF bet, adding NEOS's $30 billion income lineup a year after buying Innovator's buffer ETFs.
IFP adds roughly $400M in combined assets as advisors from South Dakota and Maryland seek flexible, long-term partnerships following LPL's Commonwealth acquisition.
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