As the New Year gets going another Registered Investment Advisor firm gets off the launchpad, continuing a trend of recent years. A desire for greater independence and alignment with the interests of clients are said to be strong drivers. The latest example is based in Florida.

FourThought Private Wealth, a firm previously known as Pinkerton Private Wealth, has launched as an independent registered investment advisor and rebranded its business. 

Based in Venice, Florida, the firm serves high net worth families, foundations and endowments. It will also expand the company into new business lines. The old Pinkerton Private Wealth firm was a financial planning firm originally founded in 1968 under AG Edwards. The company serves approximately 600 households in Florida and throughout the US, with assets under management of $800 million.

The change is an example of how RIAs continue to sprout in the US, reflecting a desire by managers for more independence, in some cases formed by people breaking out of large institutions such as banks and wirehouses. Growth of RIAs has in turn driven the rise of businesses catering for their capital, back- and mid-office, and technology needs, such as HighTower, Kestra and Dynasty Financial Partners among others. Another trend is of RIA mergers, driven by firms’ desire for scale in an increasingly complex and regulated environment, as well as by a desire by businesses to acquire support in areas such as financing and technology. Groups such as ECHELON Partners have tracked a busy trend of industry consolidation, driven partly by rising regulatory burdens requiring increased economies of scale.

The renamed firm’s team is led by managing partner Scott Pinkerton and partner William Mehserle. In 2019 Pinkerton appeared on lists including Barron’s 1,200 Top US Financial Advisors, Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors and Financial Times Top 400 Financial Advisors. Mehserle was named in Forbes’ Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors list in both 2018 and 2019, FourThought said in a statement.

The management team also includes partner Patrick Baumann, who is former treasurer of Harris Corporation, who serves as the chief investment officer, and chief operating officer/chief compliance officer Donna Guinta, former chief operations officer of Cadaret, Grant, a large broker-dealer based in New York state.

In addition to FourThought Private Wealth, the company includes FourThought Signature, which offers family office services, and FourThought Institutions, which serves businesses and non-profits.

FourThought Private Wealth has formed strategic relationships with providers in the industry including Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions®, which will act as the primary custodian for its clients’ investment assets.

“We are seeing a trend of advisors from IBDs [independent broker-dealers] such as FiNet or LPL seeking greater autonomy, control and growth potential by launching their own RIAs. Going independent will allow FourThought to leverage technology, gain access to financial planning strategies and develop new service lines that were not possible on an IBD platform,” Mike Papedis, CEO and founder of Fusion Financial Partners, said.

Prior to launching as an independent RIA, the team operated through Wells Fargo FiNet, the independent contractor division of Wells Fargo.