Equita Financial Network welcomes Astraea Wealth
Pennsylvania-based Equita Financial Network said Astraea Wealth Management has become the seventh partner firm on its platform built for women-led and independently owned fee-only firms.
From Midwest Capital Advisors, where she spent more than five years, Laura Corbiani launched Astraea on the Equita platform last month with plans to “integrate financial planning, investment management and coaching for resilient women, distressed savers and the LGBTQ+ community”.
A visual artist and former research scientist, Corbiani spent time as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch and then Atria's CUSO Financial Services before joining Midwest in late 2018.
Named for the Greek goddess of justice, purity and precision, Astraea will focus on serving successful women in male-dominated fields and investors who feel financially troubled, overlooked or invisible, she said.
“I am grateful to have the opportunity to build this people-first financial planning firm with a mission to make the financial planning experience welcoming and judgment-free,” Corbiani said in a statement. “(I) wouldn't have been able to do it as well without the support of the Equita network and other professional CFP women who have pushed and encouraged me to take the plunge.”
“The launch of another female-owned advisory firm reflects a positive trend in the industry, further reducing the gender gap in financial services,” added Equita co-founder Bridget Venus Grimes. “Equita is excited to help Laura grow a successful firm. We've seen other women on our platform do just that, and their growth has been incredible.”
With approximately $283 million in collective assets, Equita was founded by Grimes and Katie Burke in 2018 and celebrated its fifth anniversary in May. The women, both CFPs, structured Equita to reflect their experiences as RIA owners (Grimes' WealthChoice and Burke's Method Financial are both on the Equita platform).
Member firms are able to develop their own independent brand identity and service model under Equita ADV, there is no capital exchange and there are two levels of membership available.
A basic membership includes access to a members-only community platform, automatic registration, and free access to a series of educational webinars and networking events for $39 per month.
For $1,500 per month and an asset-based portfolio management fee of 20 bps per year, Equita Signature Platform members get all of this and: an Advyzon-based technology platform that provides a customizable customer portal, CRM, performance reporting and billing, along with 24-hour technical support; financial planning software provided by eMoney; E&O, cyber liability and wire fraud coverage; compliance; billing, investment and practice management support; and portfolio implementation and management resources.
Charles Schwab is the firm's custodian.
Apella's fortune hits $4 billion with sixth acquisition in 2 1/2 years
Connecticut-based Apella Wealth, a private equity-backed RIA, has acquired an East Coast RIA that brings total assets to more than $4 billion in approximately 4,000 households and more than 100 institutional clients.
In Reston, Va., ClearLogic Financial is owned and led by Mark Atherton, who is joining Apella as a regional director. He brings with him approximately $464 million in client assets and a team of seven that includes four financial planners, a portfolio analyst, a platform and billing analyst and a client relationship manager with experience serving professionals and retirees in the federal sectors and private.
The acquisition, which closed on April 12, is Apella's sixth since selling a minority stake to Wealth Partners Capital Group and HGGC in the fall of 2021, when the firm oversaw about $2.4 billion. It is the 17th in the company's history.
Acquired firms adopt the Apella brand, become W-2 employees and gain access to a technology platform and menu of resources that includes retirement plan specialists, research, marketing and client education resources.
“By partnering with Apella, my team can focus more time and energy on serving our customers and spend less time on the administrative aspects of running a business,” Atherton said in a statement.