$740M Morgan Stanley Smith Barney team bolts for independence

Another team of registered representatives who work with wealthy clients has turned its back on Wall Street to become independent registered investment advisers. The team, Eric Thurber, Fred Molfino and Brett Sharkey, left the Menlo Park, Calif., office of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney on Aug. 14 to create a new advisory firm, Three Bridge Wealth Advisors. Schwab Institutional of San Francisco will be the custodian for the firm's advisory and wealth management business. The advisers said they had $740 million in client assets before leaving to start their own firm, also in Menlo Park. The three advisers said they were “frustrated” with working for a wirehouse for a number of reasons, including the emphasis on short-term goals and quarterly profits, and being both a producer and distributor of financial products. Many of their clients work in the venture capital and private-equity businesses, they said. After looking at other wirehouses and contemplating taking a giant bonus to move to a competitor, the advisers decided to strike out on their own. “We couldn't explain to clients how things would be better” at another wirehouse, said Mr. Sharkey, who along with Mr. Thurber and Mr. Molfino, is a managing director at Three Bridge. Many of their clients are in the process of moving assets to the new firm, the advisers said. Christine Pollak, a Morgan Stanley Smith Barney spokeswoman, declined to comment about the team's departure. She added that turnover among top brokers at the firm has been extremely limited.