$250M Merrill Team Goes Indie in Texas

"Robert and his team represent the caliber of the elite wirehouse advisor we're attracting to our platform, where our partner firms get all the resources and support they need to succeed, with the freedom and flexibility they long for," said Fertitta, who was with Merrill from 1996 to 2019.

For the last three years, Gilliland served on Merrill's Advisory Council to Management.

"I know Vince Fertitta and Jim Dickson from Merrill. They have gained my respect and trust unequivocally, and I saw what they built at Sanctuary Wealth as the best of two worlds," he explained in a statement. (Dickson was with Merrill from 1997 to 2017.)

"As the owner of my practice, … I have access to an open architecture platform with a range of wealth management services that can help accelerate Concenture's growth," Gililland said. "I am fully confident that my clients and my team will be well taken care of through Sanctuary's partnered independence approach."

Sanctuary Wealth network has more than 30 partner firms with about $9 billion in assets under advisement. Sanctuary Wealth Group includes Sanctuary Advisors, an RIA, and the broker-dealer Sanctuary Securities, which is in the process of changing its name from David A. Noyes.

— Check out Merrill Taps New Exec on ThinkAdvisor.