LPL, Osaic, and Raymond James continued to make progress in their recruitment efforts this week, with LPL scooping up a $700 million team from Wedbush in Texas as Osaic and Raymond James announcing more modest additions from TrustFirst and Commonwealth.
On Tuesday, LPL Financial revealed it had brought on Houston-based Skyward Financial, a team of six advisors who collectively report managing approximately $700 million in client assets.
The group, led by Matthew Houston, Lynn Houston, and Ross Stripling, joins LPL from Wedbush Securities. According to the firm, Skyward Financial’s client base includes business owners, retirees, and professional athletes, with plans to expand into serving college athletes as well.
Matthew Houston said the team’s approach centers on collaboration and understanding each client’s full financial picture.
“We believe that people need to be comfortable with what they own and understand why they own certain things,” Houston said in the announcement Tuesday.
He said the move to LPL was driven by the need for a more robust technology platform, noting that “our younger clients were seeking something that better suited their needs.”
Osaic has also expanded its network, revealing that a former TrustFirst team has affiliated with the hybrid RIA in Tennessee.
The newly launched firm in Knoxville, led by TrustFirst Senior Partner John Kennedy, reportedly managed $177 million in assets under administration.
Osaic’s announcement highlights the firm’s ongoing growth and its focus on providing operational support and an expanded investment platform to new teams.
Kennedy’s team, which includes experienced advisors Ted Shaver, Leslie Grossman, James "Tony" Powers," and Daniel McDonald, cited the opportunity for growth and access to Osaic’s resources as key factors in the decision to affiliate.
Don Taylor, Kennedy's partner, is remaining in place to wind down the firm's broker-dealer and RIA business, according to the announcement.
Last week, the hybrid RIA giant notched a key win as a Greeley, Colorado-based team left LPL to establish an OSJ under Osaic. Earlier this month, an ex-Commonwealth Financial Network advisor launched her own namesake firm with Osaic in Massachusetts by affiliating with one of its other OSJs.
In another loss for Commonwealth, Raymond James has welcomed Gino Molettieri, who managed $174 million in client assets, to its independent advisor channel.
Molettieri, who's now operating his own practice Lumen Wealth Management in Reading, Massachusetts, is joined by his sister, Maria Molettieri, who serves as client relationship manager. The practice specializes in serving business owners, pre-retirees, retirees, and corporate executives.
Molettieri said in the release that Raymond James “combines industry-leading technology with a client-first culture that enhances every interaction with our clients.” He added that the firm’s platform enables the delivery of “personalized, sophisticated planning while building lasting legacies for the people we serve.”
Raymond James' summer recruitment streak has included a series of defections from Commonwealth, including modest additions in Massachussets and New York as well as in Florida earlier this month.
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