LPL Adds $700M Team From MML: Recruiting Roundup

News August 29, 2019 at 09:59 AM
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LPL Financial says it has recruited a $700 million team with six advisors from MML Investor Services in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The group includes Brian Kasteler, Joseph Taylor, Nathan Woodward, Jorge Becerra, Michael Donaldson and Patrick Latimer of Intermountain Financial Partners, who are now using LPL's hybrid platform.  

The news comes about two weeks after LPL attracted Highlander Financial Group, a group with six advisors and $240 million in Rockville, Maryland, which also formerly worked with MML.

"We believe that LPL is the best firm to elevate our wealth management services and capabilities. With their partnership, we have the freedom and flexibility to manage our clients in a way that helps them work toward their financial goals," according to Kasteler.  

The firm serves high-net-worth professionals, retirees, business owners, qualified retirement plans and entrepreneurs. It includes administrative staff Jenna Rosa, Erica Spencer, Colton Kasteler, Haley Glenn and Lisa Becerra.

"We welcome the Intermountain Financial Partners team to LPL, and look forward to being their partner as they build and grow their practice. Our prime focus is to put advisors at the center of everything we do," said Rich Steinmeier,managing director and divisional president, Business Development, for LPL in a statement.

Separately, LPL said it has been named a Winning "W" Company by 2020 Women on Boards. The organization chose to recognize LPL, which has three women on its nine-member board of directors, for its commitment to gender diversity.

"The diversity of our board of directors represents a deep-rooted commitment to our clients, employees and investors to be an industry leader in diversity and inclusion," according to LPL Managing Director and Chief Human Capital Officer Sallie Larsen.

LPL's board members include Paulett Eberhart, Allison Mnookin and Anne Mulcahy.

2020 Women on Boards hosts an education and advocacy campaign committed to having at least 20% of all public company board seats held by women by next year.

As of 2018, the percentage of board seats held by women was nearly 18%, up from 16% in 2017, the organization says.

Raymond James' News

Raymond James' employee channel has welcomed Complex Manager Ari Litvin to its Denver operations, which includes three branches in Denver, two branches in Boulder, and a branch in Fort Collins. He joins Raymond James & Associates from Wells Fargo.

"After admiring Raymond James from a competitive standpoint for the past two years, I am ready to become part of the organization," according to Litvin, CFP. "As a Colorado native, the opportunity to join Raymond James in my home town is a dream come true."

The professional spent the last 11 years with Wells Fargo, most recently as its managing director and complex manager of the mid-South complex, which included 95 advisors in 13 branches in western Tennessee, Mississippi and northern Louisiana.

"What ultimately drove me to Raymond James was the unmatched culture and hearing how genuinely happy people were that are part of the firm," Litvin added. "I look forward to supporting advisors and working with them to grow and expand wealth management services to their clients."

Developments at Carson 

Albritton Financial Services of St. Louis, Missouri has joined the Carson Partners' network. AFS is owned by Neal M. Albritton and Kevin W. Albritton; the team has five stakeholders and nearly $100 million in client assets.

The group aims to add up to two stakeholders in the coming year "to expand the client care team and support new clients," according to a press release. It was founded in 1996 and over the past three years beccame a "virtual family office."

AFS says it "looks forward to building on that momentum with the additional financial planning power of Carson's Wealth Enhancement Group and other resources."

"The most immediate benefit our clients will enjoy is an overall cost-reduction in their investment portfolios," Kevin Albritton said in a statement.

Separately, Beth Walker, an advisor who has specialized in financial strategies for families with college-bound children and author of the book "Never Pay Retail for College," says she is affiliating with Carson as a Carson Wealth office. 

Walker set up her $70 million practice in 2002 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She launched a service offering via the Center for College Solutions in 2017 with the release of her book.

"I'm a mom on a mission. I work with other moms and dads to create better futures—for the next generation heading off to college and for the nest they leave behind," she said in a statement.

"Beth has created a truly amazing practice and is among the most trusted advisors for financial planning advice. She lives and breathes by her proprietary motto — together, we can create better futures," according to Carson.

Mercer Addition 

RIA Mercer Global Advisors acquired Regent Wealth Management Group of  Woodbridge, Connecticut, earlier in August. RWM serves about 110 high-net-worth households with about $300 million in assets; it was founded by Alan P. Weiss, CFP, CPA, in 1987.

The addition of Regent brings augments Mercer Advisors' a total of 11 branches in the Northeast, about $2.7 billion in assets and three offices in Connecticut. Overall, Mercer now has 43 offices with assets of $16.5 billion.

 "Alan and his staff are great additions to the team," according to Mercer Advisors CEO Dave Welling. "Alan has built out a deep bench of seasoned professionals and the mix of talent in Woodbridge strengthens our Team with other nearby Mercer Advisor offices in Hartford and Fairfield."

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