The Chicago-based HighTower advisor group, with 23 advisors, says it hopes to grow to $50 billion in client assets over the next three years.
The company recently told Reuters that it has amassed some $16 billion in client assets since its October 2008 launch, when it began attracting "breakway brokers" from the wirehouses and others.
It also says that it has just recruited the Strata Group, which manages some $500 million in assets, from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.
According to Fidelity, the Strata Group tapped Fidelity as its primary custodian for commission- and fee-based business.
In its first 15 months in business, HighTower told Reuters that it had "lifted out" 10 teams of financial advisers from Merrill Lynch, UBS, Goldman Sachs and other firms; plus, it anticipates recruiting two more teams over the next 30 days.
HighTower uses an "open platform," so advisors can choose to clear trades and keep accounts with Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab & Co., and JPMorgan Clearing Corp., for instance. It also gives advisors an ownership stake in the company.
This FA share is now about 25 percent, Reuters reported, with investors owning half and employees the remainder.
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