A $700 million California-based advisory team is leaving Royal Alliance, one of Osaic's broker/dealer subsidiaries, for Stratos Wealth Partners, a $20.2 billion office of LPL Financial's supervisory jurisdiction. It's the latest of several departures from Osaic this month.
Pettinelli Financial Partners is based in Redwood City, California, and includes Dennis Pettinelli and his son, Jon Pettinelli, as well as a team of 20, including advisors and support staff. All staff are making the move to Stratos.
Dennis Pettinelli's career began in 1973 with a 24-year stint at John Hancock, according to his IAPD profile. He formed his own eponymous firm in 2013 and Dennis will remain on board to pass the firm on to his son.
According to Jon Pettinelli, the advisory team sought a hybrid firm with multiple custodians to help them scale the business, bringing them to Stratos. He also noted Stratos' advisor support and portfolio management tools. In a statement to WealthManagement.comJon said Stratos' strengths were the draw for the team.
“We decided to join Stratos, not so much because of anything Osaic did or didn't do, but because of our belief that Stratos was uniquely positioned with their leadership team, services and experience in the RIA space, to help us grow personally and professionally. as a firm,” he said.
Stratos has more than 100 locations nationwide, employing 290 independent advisors and 73 home office staff.
The team's move is the latest in several departures from Osaic, including Bice Wealth Management AND Equity Design Group, which managed approximately $130 million and $520 million, respectively. Both teams left Osaic's SagePoint Financial for LPL Financial this month.
Last year, Advisor Group was rebranded as Osaic and is consolidating its eight legacy broker/dealers into the new brand; the firm plans to have them all integrated by the middle of next year, although SagePoint and Royal Alliance have already transitioned. At the end of last year, Osaic announced that he would win Lincoln National Corp.'s business. with assets of 108 billion dollars.
Bice founder Cubby Bice said WealthManagement.com he was shocked by his impression that Osaic was trying to scale its revenue and profits rapidly by combining multiple b/ds without paying attention to the back office needs of advisors.
Bice and Equity Design Group co-founder Jason Hohenstein cited the penetration of private equity into the property space (and into Osaic) as a factor in their departure. Hohenstein felt his team was “tired of being shuffled around like cattle”, saying they had “no idea” which direction Osaic was going and complained that the only beneficiaries would be “shareholders and private equity”.
In a previous interview with WealthManagement.comOsaic CEO Jamie Price dismissed speculation about the firm going public or looking for a buyer, saying there was plenty to do internally with b/d's ongoing consolidations.
“We're not discussing with management teams or board members about 'should we do an IPO?'” Price said. “It's a very early guess on that.”
Last month, Sturkie Wealth Management Group, an advisory team in Lexington, SC, made the reverse move from Stratos to Osaic, according to public filings. Founding partner Stephen Sturkie was registered with Osaic as of Jan. 30, according to his IAPD profile. The team was registered with Stratos and LPL since 2012. According to its website, the firm works with individuals, families, retirees and business owners.
Osaic declined to comment on the addition, including the amount of assets under management at the time of the move.
Earlier this month, Osaic recruited a $117 million firm from LPL. Egéa Wealth Management is led by Founder Alex Papadopoulos and is based in Evanston, Ill. Papadopoulos said Osaic was a “scale player,” providing firms with technology and back-office assistance to help the firm expand.