M&A
Advisor Group
The independent wealth management firm and Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services have agreed to merge.
Under the terms of the deal, Ladenburg will be acquired by Advisor Group through a cash merger, in which each outstanding share of Ladenburg’s common stock will be converted into a cash payment of $3.50 per share.
The total value of the deal is approximately $1.3bn (£1bn, €1.18bn) and is expected to close in the first half of 2020.
Following completion of the merger, the expanded Advisor Group organisation will continue to be led by its current chief executive and president, Jamie Price.
Advisor Group’s leadership team will include senior executives from both companies.
Ladenburg’s firms will not be merged with Advisor Group’s businesses, “reflecting both companies’ commitment to a multi-brand network model”.
After the deal, the merged wealth management business will have nearly 11,500 financial advisers and over $450bn in client assets.
Fulton Bank
The subsidiary of Fulton Financial Corporation has purchased APS Wealth Management in Pennsylvania.
The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
APS Wealth Management, which was established by Mike Chwastyk in 1994, had approximately $67m in assets under management/administration at the time the sale to Fulton was completed.
Fulton Bank has approximately $11bn in assets under management/administration through its wealth management division, Fulton Financial Advisors.
Bluespring Wealth Partners
The acquisition-focused business has bought Minneapolis-based Vector Wealth Management.
Founded in 1993, Vector Wealth Management comprises:
- Thomas Fee – managing partner;
- Sharon Calhoun – senior wealth adviser;
- Jason Ranallo – director of portfolio management;
- Tyler Schelhaas – senior wealth adviser;
- Todd Stueve – senior wealth adviser; and,
- Daniel Powers – portfolio manager.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
People Moves
Wells Fargo
Adam Taback has been named chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Wealth Management.
He most recently served in a dual role as head of global alternative investment strategy for Wells Fargo Investment Institute and deputy chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank.
Hawthorn, PNC Family Wealth
Alexandre Monnier has been appointed as Hawthorn’s managing director of wealth sustainability.
He will lead the Hawthorn Institute for Family Success – a suite of specialised services available to its clients to help them and their families thrive and successfully transfer wealth across generations.
Monnier joins PNC from Family Office Exchange, the Chicago-based global network for ultra-high net worth families and advisers.
Raymond James & Associates
The firm has hired Jeremy Silvas as office manager in its north Texas/Arkansas operation.
Silvas joins from Merrill Lynch, where he was the market executive for the greater Houston market.
He will succeed Michael Hilger, who will fully transition his management responsibilities over the next 14 months.
Elsewhere, RJA hired a team from Merrill Lynch to join its office in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The team operates as HPL + Associates Planning and Wealth Management of Raymond James and consists of:
- Vic Howie – first vice president of wealth management;
- Paige Passerallo – vice president of wealth management;
- Dustin Lisk – vice president of wealth management;
- Mark Passerallo – marketing and business development consultant; and
- Taylor Racer – senior client associate.
Before joining Raymond James, Howie previously spent 21 years with Bank of America and 10 years with Merrill Lynch.
Aegon Asset Management US
Jeff Grills has joined the firm as the head of emerging markets debt.
Prior to joining Aegon AM, Grills was a partner and a senior portfolio manager for emerging markets strategies at Gramercy Funds Management.
Rebalance
The US investment firm has named Drew Pratt as vice president of investment advice.
Pratt will help contribute to the firm’s wealth management practice while also advancing Rebalance’s 360 Product Suite, a full-service wealth management offering.
Prior to joining Rebalance, Pratt spent over a decade at Wetherby Asset Management in San Francisco, California.
Klingman & Associates
The independent wealth management firm has hired Michelle McKinnon as a wealth adviser.
McKinnon had previously spent her entire career at New York City-based Payne Capital Management.
