The move comes at a time when Texan cities such as Austin, Houston and Dallas remain important centers of wealth.

Rockefeller Capital Management has added Ladage, Smith, Garcia Wealth Partners, formerly with UBS. 

Joining its Rockefeller Global Family Office, this is the firm’s first private advisor team to be based in Austin, Texas, it said in a statement last Friday.

The team is led by managing directors and private advisors Alex Ladage and Landon Smith. The five-person group includes senior vice president and private advisor Jorge Garcia as well as vice presidents and senior client associates Monica Vallejo and Carl Pavlich. The team reports to Michael Armondo, Central Division director.

“As we’ve expanded the reach of Rockefeller across the United States, we see significant opportunity to deliver premium and differentiated wealth management services to clients and prospects in Greater Austin and beyond,” Christopher Dupuy, co-president of Rockefeller Global Family Office, said.

Ladage, a graduate of West Point and a former Army Airborne Ranger, previously worked at UBS and Merrill Lynch. A graduate of the University of Mississippi, Smith previously worked in partnership with Ladage at both UBS and Merrill Lynch. Both Ladage and Smith are Certified Exit Planning Advisors.

Garcia has over 15 years’ experience in wealth management, most recently with UBS. He is a graduate of the University of Texas, Austin and is also a Certified Exit Planning Advisor. 

Vallejo, who has five years of experience in various operations and service roles at UBS and Merrill Lynch, is a native of Austin. Pavlich brings more than 40 years of experience in operations and management positions at a number of firms, among them UBS and Morgan Stanley.

Rockefeller Capital Management was established in 2018. Originally founded in 1882 as the family office of John D Rockefeller, the firm has evolved to offer strategic advice to ultra- and high net worth individuals and families, institutions, and corporations from 40 locations across the US. 

Early in 2022, the firm opened an office in London. As of December 31, 2022, it oversaw about $97.7 billion in client assets across its three businesses: Rockefeller Global Family Office, Rockefeller Asset Management and Rockefeller Strategic Advisory.