A four-person financial advisor team managing about $650 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets has broken away from Merrill Lynch to create the independent practice NorthEnd Private Wealth, affiliated with LPL Financial's Strategic Wealth Services (SWS).
The advisor team, based in the North End business district of Greenville, South Carolina, is made up of Josh Brown, Scott Thompson, Joel Gray and James (Jake) Cluverius Jr.
The advisor team's four managing partners have been friends and colleagues for over two decades. Their diverse backgrounds add to their unique perspectives, having all entered the industry from other professions: mechanical engineering, teaching, law and marketing, according to Brown.
With administrative support from Jeannie Fowler and Ashley Thomason, the advisor team mainly provides wealth management, retirement income planning and estate planning.
In what has become a growing industry trend, the team was seeking more control of their business and the ability to chart their own path, so it chose to break away from their wirehouse firm, Merrill, and launch an independent practice with support from LPL.
"We wanted to be able to establish a culture in our firm that reflects our beliefs and service standards," Brown said in the announcement. "As independent advisors with LPL, we are able to put our clients first and always operate in their best interests."
