Commonwealth-affiliated Longwave hires LPL staffer amid Pacific Northwest expansion

Commonwealth-affiliated hybrid RIA Longwave Financial has hired a former LPL representative into a client services role as the firm also acquired Seattle-based RIA MG Financial. 

New York-based Longwave began its Washington State expansion in January when the firm merged with Spectrum, a Bellevue-based practice led by Eric Chaney. Longwave deploys an ESG investing approach and manages just under $900 million in client assets after acquiring MG Financial as its founder Maris Galins retires after over 30 years as an advisor.  

“It feels like a lot of the firms that three years ago, were really front and center in values-aligned investing have kind of shushed themselves a little bit,” Longwave CEO and founder Nathan Munits told InvestmentNews. “With us continuing to offer this investment approach, I think it's pretty appealing for an advisor that has this niche but wants to join a larger firm, or an advisor that has this niche and is looking to retire.” 

Amid Longwave’s M&A activity, Sheryll Gianino has joined Longwave as its new client services manager. She holds her FINRA Series 7 and 66 securities registrations and previously worked in a client services role at the LPL-affiliated firm Embark Financial Partners in Overland Park, Kansas since late-2023.  

According to regulatory filings, Gianino had been registered with LPL Financial since November 2025 until July 23, 2026. She then registered last week with Commonwealth Financial Network, coming as LPL has begun laying off back-office staff from Commonwealth. 

Since LPL announced its deal to acquire Commonwealth on March 31, 2025, Gianino is one of 15 individuals who have moved their registrations from LPL to Commonwealth, according to data supplied by AdvizorPro. 

Longwave Financial is state registered in New York and operates mostly as a fee-based RIA, despite its brokerage relationship with Commonwealth.  

“99% of our revenue is fee-based, but we maintain our FINRA registration for the time being because we're acquisitive — it just allows us to be a little bit more flexible with the types of firms that could potentially land with us,” said Munits, who won Advisor of the Year in the ESG/Responsible Investing category at the 2026 InvestmentNews Awards. 

ESG investing faces headwinds

Momentum for ESG (environmental, social, and governance) has been challenged by shifting regulations, such as the Trump administration’s announced plans to overturn a Biden-era rule that allows pension funds to consider ESG factors when making investment decisions and exercising shareholder voting rights. The number of ESG-labeled funds has decreased by 100 (12% contraction) since January 2025, according to a May 2026 analysis published by Harvard Law School's Forum on Corporate Governance. 

“I would say the shift that's been happening is towards materiality, and so I think people that feel climate is going to have an impact on the world and business and companies, want to see climate resiliency in their portfolios, and an ESG lens lends itself pretty well to that,” said Munits. 

Longwave Financial plans to continue its West Coast expansion. Munits mentioned California, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado as areas whose population he sees being particularly ESG-oriented. 

“I think of ESG investing today the way that organic food felt like 30 years ago, where it was just a new thing to really scrutinize food labels,” said Munits. “What that led to was Whole Foods becoming a tremendous differentiator in how people buy groceries, and I think there is a lane there for Longwave when it comes to checking the labels on your investments.”