A consulting trio based in Wichita, Kan. with about $685 million in assets under management is joining LPL Financial from Merrill Lynch, the independent broker/dealer announced.
Michael Caffrey, Derek Keller and Gabriel Parham are launching Air Capital Wealth Management by linking with LPL Strategic Wealth Services, the firm's independent model for advisers moving away from wireline or regional firms.
The trio chose LPL after considering how best to grow the business appropriately while keeping the legacy of the firm's original leaders intact. According to Caffrey, the trio decided that LPL would help them focus on clients and “not corporate mandates.”
“LPL gives us the flexibility and resources we need to make our decisions and build our business the way we want,” he said.
Parham says the trio's customer base includes doctors, engineers and pilots, farmers, teachers and small business owners. The trio based the team's name on Wichita's reputation as the “Air Capital of the World.” Two assistants will join them in the move to the LPL.
According to SEC filings, Michael Caffrey has been registered with Merril since 2013, while Derek Keller was registered with AXA Advisors in 2006 before moving to Merrill in 2010. Parham was registered with Wells Fargo in 2013 before moving to Merril four years later.
LPL formed the Strategic Wealth Services model in 2020 for advisors with $200 million or more in AUM who want back-office support and the autonomy to run their practice as they see fit.
According to LPL, SWS gives advisors access to LPL's open architecture platform and support to launch their practice. This includes onboarding clients, finding office real estate, installing technology and compliance solutions, and helping to develop a firm's brand. LPL then provides operational support, including a business strategist, marketing partner and CFO.
LPL attracted multiple Merrill advisors and teams to its SWS model this year, including Clayton Ortloffa Midland, Texas-based advisor with approximately $820 million in assets under management. He joined the industry in 2006 and spent his entire career with Merrill before moving to LPL, where he started Heritage Private Wealth.
Earlier this year, a Florida-based team with $580 million in assets also joined SWS from Merrill, saying they wanted more autonomy than they could find in-house. In February, the Doylestown, Penn.-based duo James Debuque and Timothy Baltz joined SWS from Merrill, managing $1 billion in assets. It was the 40th new SWS team since its inception.