Northstar Wealth Partners lands team managing $860M

Northstar Wealth Partners, the largest supervisory office of LPL Financial LLC in Connecticut, has landed a team with $860 million in assets. The new team, headed by Tyler W. Potts and J. Addison McAraw, will double Northstar's assets to nearly $2 billion. Mr. Potts and Mr. McAraw, who were formerly with Essex Financial Services Inc., transferred their licenses to Northstar last week and are set to open a new branch for Northstar in Old Saybrook, Conn., next month. The duo, along with two client service specialists, join 22 advisers and eight full-time staff members at Northstar, which currently has five offices. “We started speaking with J. and Tyler over a year ago,” said Brandon Marinelli, a founding partner at Northstar. The team's business, which is about 90% asset-based fees, is a good fit with Northstar, whose advisers also are primarily fee-based, he said. But the Northstar business mix “runs the full gamut,” Mr. Marinelli added. “We do financial planning, charging for our time [and] help on more complex issues. We're also very involved in business succession and estate planning, so we do a lot in insurance.” Northstar advisers produce on average in the “$500,000 to $650,000” range, Mr. Marinelli said. The firm has added a few advisers every year over the past four years, “but this is the largest [acquisition] by far,” he said. Mr. Marinelli declined to discuss specifics of the recruitment package offered to the new team. “We wish them well,” said Doug Paul, chairman of Essex Financial's board, who declined to comment further about the team's departure. Essex founder John Rafal this year was named the No. 1 financial adviser in Connecticut by Barron's, and in 2007 and 2008 was listed by Barron's as the No. 1 independent adviser in the nation.