LPL's recruitment machine has drawn yet another advisor team from Cetera, while Kestra welcomed an experienced advisor from Hightower and Oxford Financial expanded its Grand Rapids, Michigan presence with a managing director hire.
LPL welcomed the advisors of Paxel Financial Consulting to its broker-dealer and registered investment adviser platform, with the team set to operate under the infrastructure of Private Advisor Group.
Private Advisor Group is a large OSJ operating within LPL. Late last year, LPL took a minority stake in PAG, putting it alongside Merchant Investment Management in the firm's capital stack.
Founded in 1989 and led by Chin Po, the practice reported serving approximately $300 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets and arrives from Cetera. The team also includes advisors Young Po, Harry Lee, Jim Xu, and Gary Jiang.
Chin Po, who's among three CPAs in the firm's core advisor team, said Paxel's work centers on pairing financial and estate planning for clients navigating complicated family and cross-border circumstances.
"For many of the families we serve, especially those navigating the challenges of immigration and cross-border financial complexities, having an advisor who understands their unique circumstances can make a meaningful difference in their lives." Po said.
LPL's chief growth officer, Marc Cohen, framed the addition as consistent with the firm's broader recruiting push.
Those efforts appear to landing with advisors from Cetera recently. Over the past several weeks alone, LPL announced the additions of Frank Patton and Kimberlee Mott of PacK Financial in Kentucky, Dawn Parks of Sunny Day Financal in Texas, and Williams Tax & Financial Services in California, who collectively reported serving $640 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets at their previous firm.
Kestra Private Wealth Services and its affiliated Kindred Wealth Partners have added Kathryn McGough, JD, CFP, an attorney-turned-advisor who previously managed approximately $240 million in client assets. McGough, who was previously affiliated with Hightower, is establishing a Kindred office in the Greater Chicago area, extending the firm's presence in that market. Her practice concentrates on estate planning for multigenerational, high-net-worth families, including wealth-transfer strategy and estate-tax planning.
"Every decision I have made in my career comes back to one question: what is in the best interest of my clients," McGough said. "This move is no different. At Kindred and Kestra Private Wealth Services, I have the independence to put clients first and the resources to support them."
Kestra Private Wealth Services president Rob Bartenstein said the firm hears a consistent theme from advisors considering a move.
"You should not have to trade independence for the resources of a larger platform," Bartenstein said. Kindred managing partner Chuck Palmer added that McGough's background "strengthens the value we bring to multigenerational families and supports our continued growth."
Oxford Financial Group has named Jason Gust a managing director and family office fellow in its Grand Rapids, Michigan office.
The latest addition by the firm, which operates among the largest independent RIA firms in the US as it oversees more than $38 billion in assets under advisement, gives it additional capacity to serve ultra-high-net-worth families, multigenerational trusts and business owners in the West Michigan market.
Gust joins from VA Enterprises, a Grand Rapids-based single-family office, where he served as director of finance overseeing tax strategy, treasury and wealth operations. He previously served as controller at Buttonwood Capital Management.
Gust will work on tax and estate planning, wealth preservation, asset protection and capital deployment for Oxford's most complex client families, and will help coordinate planning across insurance, philanthropy and trust administration.
Oxford chief executive Jeffrey Thomasson said Gust's background inside family office environments made him "the perfect addition" to the Grand Rapids team, given the level of coordination those clients require.
Howard Bailey Financial has added Jake Boyer as an advisory team associate at its Fort Wayne, Indiana headquarters, where he will support the firm's traditional advisor team.
A recent graduate of Taylor University, Boyer previously worked as a college financial representative with Northwestern Mutual and is pursuing his Series 65 license.
Reid Braun, director of advisor operations and senior financial advisor at Howard Bailey, said Boyer's qualities give him "all the right ingredients to make an immediate impact within the firm." Boyer said he is drawn to the firm's focus on long-term client relationships.
"I'm passionate about the firm's commitment to building lifelong relationships and purpose-driven retirement plans for all clients," he said.
The numbers show a worrying trend – should we be concerned?
Authorities investigate the death of Mohamed Coulibaly weeks after a Barron's report detailed his alleged fraud targeting ex-NFL players.
UBS wins clawback of bonus money from advisor recruited from First Republic.
Abry Partners exits after three years as the wealth manager expands family office and tax advisory services.
As the industry logs record-high profits alongside anemic organic growth, it's time to ask whether firms have permanently lost their business development muscle.
Northern Trust’s Ken Lassner shows advisors how to convert volatility into after-tax portfolio gains
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income
