$800 million Morgan team breaks away

A team previously managing $800 million in client assets at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has broken away to form an independent firm. The team, which is partnering with Dynasty Financial Partners, a platform and service provider for independent advisers, has taken the name Mosaic Family Wealth and will be located in St. Louis, Mo. (See InvestmentNews' full Advisers on the move database.) “We have noticed a trend toward significantly larger advisory teams choosing independence,” said Dynasty's CEO, Shirl Penney, a former Citi Smith Barney executive, in a news release. One member of the team, Grant McKay, is remaining with Morgan Stanley, although it is not known how much of the $800 million in assets he oversees. A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley, Christine Jockle, confirmed the move. Mosaic had previously operated as HSM Wealth Management and includes founders Scott Highmark and Larry Shikles. Mr. Highmark had been with Morgan Stanley and predecessor firms since 2006, according to records with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. Mr. Shikles joined Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in 1994. Their business manages money for entrepreneurs and some institutional clients, including corporations, endowments and pension plans, according to the news release. They are joined by six other members of their team. Mosaic marks the 27th partner firm for Dynasty. The addition, which is one of the largest since Dynasty's founding in 2010, brings the total assets under advisement by Dynasty's partner firms to around $23 billion, according to spokeswoman Sally Cates.