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A Merrill Lynch branch office

Practice Management > Building Your Business > Recruiting

Sanctuary Wealth Picks Up 2 Advisor Teams From Merrill

By Jeff Berman

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What You Need to Know

  • Two advisor teams have broken away from wirehouse Merrill Lynch to join the growing Sanctuary Wealth network.
  • The 11-person Auric Capital Partners team includes six partner advisors.
  • Sanctuary now includes partner firms in 27 U.S. states with about $25 billion in AUA.

Sanctuary Wealth said Friday it added two advisor teams from Merrill Lynch with a combined $1 billion in client assets under management.

Sanctuary’s latest partner firm, Auric Capital Partners, was formed by combining Mittman & Associates, led by Michael J. Mittman, in Denver, and McKelvy Schellenberg & Associates, led by Luke R. McKelvy and William A. Schellenberg, with offices in Orange County, California, and Denver.

Merrill Lynch didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The new eleven-person firm was created by the runaway advisor teams to “create a superior advisory experience for clients at any asset level,” according to Sanctuary Wealth.

“We’ve been working hard over the past couple of years to enhance our ultra-high net worth solutions for Sanctuary partner firms and their clients,” according to Jim Dickson, CEO and founder of Sanctuary Wealth.

“Auric’s decision to launch their new firm with Sanctuary is a testament to the breadth and depth of resources and capabilities that we’ve added on this front,” Dickson said in a statement.

“As an independent firm, we will now sit on the same side of the table with our clients and have the ability to provide truly objective advice, as our only goal is adding value to each client’s financial future,” according to Mittman, who is serving as partner and managing director of advisory at Auric.

“With Auric Capital Partners, we have assembled a team that has the scalability and expertise through the wealth management spectrum,” Mittman said in a news release. “Our firm has the ability to serve clients whether they have several hundred thousand dollars or several hundred million,” he added.

Mittman has 24 years of investment management experience, the past 14 with Merrill Private Wealth Management, where he worked with a small number of UHNW families, institutions and private foundations.

Before creating Auric, McKelvy and Schellenberg each spent 25 years with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and each held the dual titles of wealth management advisor and senior vice president.

“We made the decision to partner with Sanctuary Wealth rather than set up our own RIA because after decades in the wirehouse environment, we had a tremendous experience in serving clients, but did not want to have to take on the responsibility of things like compliance and technology that were outside of our comfort zones,” according to McKelvy, who is serving as Auric partner and managing director of operations.

“Sanctuary offered us the type of support we were used to getting, but with the freedom to manage our business as we saw fit,” McKelvy said in a statement. “We can own the client relationship and their information, and yet we have a strong partner to assist us on the aspects of the business that never touch the client. It’s really the best of both worlds.”

“When we met with the team at Sanctuary, we were instantly comfortable with their culture and how they have constructed their business model,” added Schellenberg, Auric partner and managing director, advisory. ”It was a refreshing change from what we had experienced in the past and definitely got us excited.”

Also joining Auric as partners are Jeffrey A. Dewees and Arman Melikian, each managing director, investments; and Jay Tamkoc, managing director, advisory.

Sanctuary Wealth’s network now includes partner firms in 27 states across the U.S. with about $25 billion in assets under advisement. The firm includes the fully owned subsidiaries Sanctuary Advisors, a registered investment advisor; Sanctuary Securities, a broker-dealer; Sanctuary Alternative Holdings; Sanctuary Asset Management; Sanctuary Insurance Solutions; Sanctuary Global; and Sanctuary Global Family Office.

(Pictured: A Merrill Lynch branch office; Image: Shutterstock)

Jeff Berman

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