A new RIA takes shape, formed by a former Merrill team and located in Beverly Hills.

A group of former Merrill Lynch wealth managers have formed a new business based in Beverly Hills, California, called Boulevard Family Wealth.

The firm has been launched by Matthew Celenza and a team, described in a statement as “poised to become one of the premier multi-family offices in the US”. As part of the launch, the new business is partnering with Dynasty Financial Partners and Schwab Advisor Services.

A figure in the wealth industry for almost two decades, Celenza spent the last six years with Merrill Lynch.  Alongside Celenza at Boulevard Family Wealth will be long-time team members Shannon McLaughlin and Andrea Shieh.  In addition, Andrew Aiello will be joining the firm to lead their insurance efforts as part of Boulevard Insurance Strategies. He had previously served as senior vice president at Merrill Lynch in its ultra-high net worth solutions department.

Boulevard Family Wealth is “an exclusive independent Registered Investment Advisor located in Beverly Hills, catering to ultra-affluent individuals, multi-generational families, and sophisticated entrepreneurs”, the statement said. The firm said it will focus on “working with first generation wealth and those who have achieved success as entrepreneurs and business owners in real estate, technology, private equity, as well as the arts and entertainment fields throughout Los Angeles and the West Coast”.

The formation of BFW is part of a trend of managers leaving large broker-dealer houses to create RIAs in the hope of being more independent; in many cases such RIAs partner up with organizations such as Dynasty, HighTower and Charles Schwab, among others, to provide some of the back-office and other support services.

Joe Reilly, a family office consultant who writes for Family Wealth Report, earlier this year discussed M&A issues in the RIA space with Silver Lane Advisors. (View here.)