Deutsche team with $3.2 billion in assets forms RIA

Two advisers who ran one of the largest brokerage practices in California while at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. have jumped ship to start their own firm, according to an announcement. The advisers, David La Placa and Jay Casey, founded Intellectus Partners after managing some $3.2 billion at Deutsche Bank, according to Sally Cates, a spokeswoman for Dynasty Financial Partners, a platform and service provider enlisted by the team. The two advisers resigned from Deutsche last Friday, Ms. Cates said. A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank, Catherine Wooters, declined to comment. Intellectus, which is based in San Francisco, focuses on entrepreneurs and “newly created wealth in Silicon Valley in a robust initial public offering and [mergers and acquisitions] environment,” according to a statement from Dynasty. The move is the latest in what some industry experts say is a trend of larger teams' striking out on their own. Mr. La Placa has more than two decades of industry experience, starting in 1993. He spent time at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. before joining Deutsche Bank in 2004, according to registration records with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. Mr. Casey has 15 years of industry experience and also worked until 2004 at Lehman, according to Finra records.