Based in Mechanicsburg, PA, founding partners, Frank Collins, Jr, and Kim Lee Kenawell-Hoffecker have launched the firm with the following persons, all having previously worked at Merrill Lynch: Wade A. Hoffman, partner, chief compliance officer; Steven B Thompson, partner, family wealth advisor; Sean T Hoffecker, partner, family wealth advisor; Jana M Thompson, client experience manager, Beth J Blanchfield, client experience associate and Tania J. Brungard, client experience associate.

Previously, the team managed $250 million in client assets at Merrill Lynch in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

The trend of employees leaving large wirehouses and other institutions to set up on their own continues. The number of Registered Investment Advisors, for example, continues to grow although the increase of 2.7 per cent is less dramatic than in 2016, and the total now stands at 12,172, industry figures show. Data from the Investment Adviser Association, NRS, published a few days ago, shows that in 2017, RIAs reported a total of 778,002 non-clerical employees, a figure that has held relatively flat since last year. There is an increase of 13,631 employees providing investment advisory services in RIAs , compared to 2016. As announced this week, another RIA was founded by former Morgan Stanley figures, in California.

Part of the reason for these breakaways is a desire for more independence and control. The arrival of the Department of Labor's Fiduciary Rule, which is squeezing commission-based forms of advice and encouraging a move towards fee-linked advice, is also seen as driving this trend. 

While parts of the financial services sector are under pressure as regulations bite and low interest rates squeeze margins, it appears that Registered Investment Advisors are having a ball, at least according to the latest annual survey of the market by Charles Schwab. In the firm’s 2017 RIA Benchmarking Study, based on findings taken from January to March 2017, it contains self-reported data from 1,321 firms that custody their assets with Schwab Advisor Services. The survey finds that the median firm’s assets under management rose to $593 million in 2016 from $358 million in 2012, which translates into a scorching 10 per cent five-year compound annual growth rate. Profitability remains robust with a standard operating margin of 25 per cent last year.