Royal Alliance, one of the three independent broker-dealers in the AIG Life & Retirement-owned Advisor Group, said Tuesday that it recruited two teams recently from rival IBDs with a total of about $550 million in assets under management.
The IBD also says it's poised to recruit more advisors and teams through the end of 2012 and into next year. "We have a very full pipeline. Over the course of the next months or so, you can expect to see us recruiting a couple more large groups, and we have a very strong pipeline going into the first quarter, as well," said Kevin Beard (left), senior vice president of recruiting, in an interview with AdvisorOne.
On Friday, the team of Angelo Talebi and Artin Bandari in Beverly Hills, Calif., came over to Royal from LPL Financial (LPLA). The team has roughly $230 million in assets and about $2 million in yearly fees in commissions.
According to Royal, the team was one of the largest variable-annuity producers for LPL and part of that IBD's Chairman Club. Talebi has been in the business for more than 15 years, while Bandari has roughly six years of financial services experience.
"They were referrals from a Los Angeles-area office," explained Beard. "A long-standing advisor suggested we speak with them. It just so happens that they were looking for a firm with strong technology, rep-centric service, and a boutique-like firm that is focused on supporting and growing high-net-worth practices."
Like Royal, the Beverly Hills team is also very relationship focused, he adds. "Royal Alliance President & CEO Art Tambaro and others, including myself, have made a lot of contact in courting them to the firm and after they made their decision. This experience has been very positive for all of us."
