UBS building in New York (Photo: Bloomberg)

Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, the wirehouse’s independent channel, says it added a team with some $1.6 billion in client assets from UBS and four advisors.

The group includes veteran advisors Ted Chartier, Susan Freeman, Thomas Freeman and Matthew Sayers, who are working with FiNet advisor Gregory Spears.

The practice is called FCS Private Wealth Management and is based in Leawood, Kansas. Spears has been in the business for 32 years. He joined Wells Fargo in 2015 after being with UBS for the prior four years and from 1997 to 2004.

The advisors recently moving to FiNet from UBS have more than 100 years of combined industry experience. Chartier, for instance, was with UBS for the past 17 years; Susan Freeman has nine years in the business, while Thomas Freeman has spent three decades as an advisor.

Raymond James Adds UBS Team

Raymond James added an employee team in Miami from UBS that works with $300 million. It includes advisors Ernesto Angueira and Eric Muñoz. 

They join Raymond James & Associates’ Miami-area office.They are joined by investment portfolio associate Nicholas Suarez and client service associate Natalia Navarro and operate as Alianza Wealth Management Group of Raymond James.

“To have the ability to manage a multi-jurisdiction and diverse business on one platform that is also technologically sophisticated was very appealing to us,” said Angueira, in a statement.

Angueira has been in the business for 34 years; he spent 19 years at UBS and 15 years in private banking with Chase. Muñoz began his financial services career in 2000 at UBS. 

Advisor Julio Revuelta also moved to Raymond James & Associates in Miami from Safra Securities, where he worked with $250 million. His experience includes a variety of roles at HSBC and Royal Bank of Canada. 

Stifel Adds 6 From Wells Fargo

Meanwhile, Stifel Financial says it recruited six advisors from Wells Fargo Advisors with a total of about $540 million in assets.

The new recruits include three in Anderson, Indiana: the father-son team of Steve and Daniel Bottomley, working with $310 million, and Paul Church, who manages $60 million.

“I am extremely excited to be reunited with Steve, Paul, and Kimberly Morse, registered client service associate,” said Steve Warner, branch manager, in a statement.  

“The Bottomley family is well known and respected throughout the Anderson community, having offered wealth guidance and services for decades,” he added.

Other advisors moving to Stifel from Wells Fargo are Mark Finnicum of Great Falls, Montana, with $78 million; John Wood of Zanesville, Ohio, $56 million; and Jeffery Adams of Ann Arbor, Michigan, $37 million.

In addition, Stifel said it recently recruited four advisors working in Venice, Florida, with some $935 million in client assets from Merrill Lynch.

Advisors Blase Sparma, Stephen Long Jr., Brad Ripplemeyer, and Hampton Ballard are part of the Venice-based team. The Venice office is Stifel’s 23rd location in the state of Florida.  

LPL’s Latest Hires

LPL Financial says Ridgeline Wealth Management has joined its hybrid platform from Wells Fargo FiNet with some $210 million in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.

The group includes Jake Lavely and Robert Dimick, who formed a partnership in 2005 and went independent in 2011. Other team members are advisor Tyler Cahoon, associate wealth manager Elysia Gingue, operations manager Stacey Randall and administrative assistant Jolene Brennan. 

“We have a really diverse, young team that positions us to serve our clients for the long haul,” Lavely said, in a statement.

Also moving to LPL from Wells Fargo FiNet is Corinne Koehler, CFP, who works with $120 million in client assets. She joined the industry in 1982 and in 2008 launched Koehler Wealth Management in Pueblo, Colorado, with office manager Bonnie Zupancic.

Advisor Group Adds Credit Union

Advisor Group says it has welcomed Oregon Community Credit Union to the Securities America’s Financial Institutions platform. 

The credit union’s Investment Services team includes four licensed financial professionals tied to 10 Oregon branches and overseeing $340 million in client assets. OCCU has affiliated with Securities America through Priority Financial Group, a hybrid RIA/Super-OSJ based in Phoenix.

With its headquarters in Eugene, Oregon, OCCU has more than $2 billion in total assets and 170,000 members.

“We are thrilled to have a financial institution of OCCU’s caliber join the Securities America and Advisor Group family,” said  Jim Norwood, president of Securities America’s Financial Institutions Division, in a statement.