RIA moves: Wells Fargo pair joins &Partners in Virginia

In a continuing sign of activity in the RIA space, three wirehouse teams have broken away to form their own independent practices with &Partners and Arkadios Capital, while a pair of RIAs in Texas and California inked a landmark partnership.

In Kilmarnock, Virginia, Broadcloth Wealth has joined &Partners, bringing a pre-transition $277 million in assets under management. Led by David Nickel, who has nearly 40 years of industry experience, the Kilmarnock-based team is known for its focus on income growth, long-term relationships, and generational planning.

Nickel, previously with Wells Fargo since 1999, is joined by practice director Wendy Galleher. The duo emphasizes personalized financial advice, reflecting their belief that “no two families live the same life – and no two portfolios should look the same.”

Meanwhile, in Alabama, two advisory teams formerly with Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch have combined to form Longleaf Capital Group, an independent RIA with more than $2 billion in assets under advisement on the Arkadios Capital platform.

Based in Dothan, Alabama, the six founding directors bring over 175 years of collective experience across wealth management, institutional investing, and tax planning. Their move underscores a broader trend of advisors leaving large banks for the flexibility of the hybrid RIA model.

“By joining forces, we’ve combined complementary expertise in wealth management, personal financial planning, tax planning, institutional retirement planning and estate planning strategies under one roof,” said Jonathan D. Lee, managing director at Longleaf Capital Group, who previously spent 15 years at Morgan Stanley.

He added that Arkadios provides the infrastructure and resources to operate as entrepreneurs while still offering institutional-quality support for clients. 

David Millican, chief executive at Arkadios, said the new team is “positioned to deliver truly comprehensive services to clients at the highest level.” 

On the West Coast, IronBridge Wealth Counsel has expanded into San Francisco through a merger with Cullen Financial Advisors. The combined firm will oversee $2.5 billion in assets under advisement and operate across 14 states.

Michael Cullen, who founded his firm more than forty years ago, said the partnership will allow them to “deliver even greater depth, technology, and planning support to our clients, while preserving the independence and personal relationships that have defined Cullen Financial for four decades.” 

Shane Morrow, chief executive at IronBridge, described the deal as an alignment of values and a step toward building a national ensemble advisory firm.