Dynasty picks up ex-Merrill complex director

In a sign of the RIA industry's thirst for acquisitions, Dynasty Financial Partners has brought on a former Merrill Lynch complex director to work specifically with advisers who want to purchase another practice. As more of its partner firms look to buy their way to growth, Dynasty, a service provider for a network of registered investment advisers, said it recruited Paul Landaiche, who most recently directed the Oklahoma complex after 14 years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, to help consult with firms on acquisitions and tuck-ins where a smaller practice joins with a larger firm. “Increasingly more advisers in our network are looking to buy other advisory firms and growth by adding advisers to their teams,” said Shirl Penney, Dynasty's president and chief executive, in a news release. “We thought it was time to hire a person to oversee these growth initiatives for increasing our roster of clients.” Dynasty currently has 24 “network partner” firms who have agreed to use its services. The 24 firms have around $22 billion in assets but file their own regulatory forms with the SEC. A spokeswoman for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Susan Atran, confirmed the move but declined to comment further.