LPL Adds $485 Million in Adviser Teams From Cetera, Morgan Stanley
LPL Financial LLC added two adviser teams this week overseeing a combined $485 million in client assets. Williams Tax & Financial Services joined the firm’s broker-dealer and registered investment adviser platform from Cetera, and brothers John and Brian Bizjack joined from Morgan Stanley, aligning with Ascendus Financial Advisors.
Based in Los Alamitos, Calif., Williams Tax & Financial Services is led by Steve Williams, a certified financial planner and enrolled agent whose father founded the practice as a tax business. Williams, a second-generation adviser with nearly four decades of experience, is joined by Jobel Rentino and Kirk Hunter. The practice manages approximately $340 million in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets.
“Throughout my career, I’ve believed that financial advice should be both personal and practical,” Williams said. “We aim to give clients a clearer understanding of where they stand today and what they can expect in the future.”
Williams said he chose LPL for its scale, independence, and technology capabilities, adding that the platform lets him “remain independent and make decisions in my clients’ best interests, without being tied to specific products.”
In Tulsa, Okla., John and Brian Bizjack joined LPL with their practice, Bizjack Wealth Management, continuing a business their father, Paul Bizjack, ran for 40 years. The brothers manage approximately $145 million in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets, working with clients ranging from those nearing or in retirement to younger investors just starting out. They aligned with Ascendus Financial Advisors, a firm that supports LPL-affiliated advisers.
“Our approach is to sit down, get to know our clients and answer all their questions,” Brian Bizjack said. “We want them to feel comfortable and confident in their decisions, and we work with them to build custom strategies that are realistic and make sense with their needs.”
John Bizjack said the brothers spoke with other advisers who had made similar moves before choosing LPL and Ascendus. “We grew assured that the combination of LPL’s capabilities and the team at Ascendus would enable a seamless transition,” he said.
Ascendus adviser John Harding said the Bizjacks’ client-first approach made them “a good fit” for the firm.
LPL chief growth officer Marc Cohen said the firm was “pleased to welcome Steve to LPL.” Cohen added that LPL was “thrilled to welcome John and Brian Bizjack to LPL and Ascendus Financial Advisors.”
The moves add to a string of recent adviser recruiting at LPL, which added a five-adviser team from Buell Securities and a J.P. Morgan adviser representing a combined $1.1 billion in assets, and, before that, two advisory teams together overseeing $1.6 billion.
LPL Financial (Nasdaq: LPLA) supports more than 32,000 financial advisers and custodies approximately $2.3 trillion in brokerage and advisory assets on behalf of roughly 8 million Americans.
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