A Syracuse-based firm with $550 million in AUM will join Commonwealth's network of independent advisors, the broker/dealer announced today.
Advisors William Kriesel, Kevin Visconti and George Nardone lead Diversified Capital Management. They were with Cadaret Grant (which was acquired by Atria Wealth Solutions) before LPL Financial acquired Atria at the beginning of this year.
Kriesel founded DCM in 1998. According to Kriesel's biography on the VKM websitehe worked for a CPA firm in the late 1990s and was shocked when a client was placed in an investment program that did not meet their needs. Kriesel was inspired to form DCM in 1998 and prioritize collaboration with professionals who work with their clients (including accountants and lawyers).
According to Kriesel, Commonwealth matched where “the industry was 15 years ago.”
“We want to make sure our clients are taken care of beyond any advisor's career,” he said. “In thinking about a partner change, our decision-making was always about how changes to our business would affect our customers.”
By joining Commonwealth, DCM will shed its RIA registration and integrate Commonwealth's technology into its day-to-day operations, freeing up more time for business needs, according to Becca Hajjar, Commonwealth's managing director and chief business development officer. of customers.
Kriesel was associated with Cadaret, Grant & Co. based in Syracuse, starting in 1999, according to FINRA records. in 2018, Atria Wealth Solutions acquired The then-$23 billion RIA, along with about 900 advisors.
Earlier this year, Krisel's firm changed hands again when LPL Financial bought the Atria Wealth business in an $805 million deal structured as an equity buyout. LPL is expected to finance the deal through a mix of cash and debt. The total acquisition included $100 billion in assets, 2,400 advisors and 150 banks and credit unions.
As part of the deal, Atria would move its brokerage and advisory assets held under several broker-dealers to the LPLC platform; Cadaret Grant was one of five supporting advisors, which also included NEXT Financial Group, SCF Securities, Western International Securities and Grove Point Financial.
At the time of the deal, the transaction was expected to close in the second half of 2024, with the full conversion of Atria's advisors scheduled for mid-2025.
Commonwealth currently partners with approximately 2,200 independent advisors with over $296 billion in assets under management nationwide. In September, b/d announced it would partner with Vestwell to launch a new joint employer plan. The agreement was extended the firm's partnership with Vestwell to make the Gateway 401(k) Plan available to IBD advisors. In August, the firm withdrew a $630 million team in Temple, Ariz. from Osaic.