HighTower snags $500M JPMorgan rep

HighTower Advisors has brought a $500 million Miami-based JPMorgan rep into the fold. Marc Shachtman, 49, is making his move to independence as founder and chief executive of the newly-launched True Wealth Advisory Group, which caters to 30 ultra-high-net-worth clients that moved with him from JPMorgan. Chicago-based HighTower, which over the past decade has grown to more than $50 billion, has a sprawling footprint of 190 advisers in 28 states. (More: HighTower faces pressure to let investors cash out.) Mr. Shachtman, who served as executive director and senior banker at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, has been in the financial services industry for 14 years, including working as vice president in the investment management division at Goldman Sachs in Miami. When asked why he was making the move to independence now, Mr. Shachtman responded that he believes he is still ahead of a coming wave of such moves from across the financial services industry. "We're in the early innings of an incredible move away from traditional blue-chip firms to the more customized and personalized boutique independent space, for both advisers and clients," he said. "I still think I'm early in a trend that we're going see a lot more of over the next several years." In a prepared statement, Kimberly Papedis, managing director, head of National Sales & Platform Strategy at HighTower, said, "Marc and the team at True Wealth Advisory Group exemplify the integrity and dedication that are hallmarks of the HighTower community." Prior to Mr. Shachtman, HighTower's most recent recruit was a $260 million adviser affiliated with SunTrust Investment Services.