The seed was planted about 15 years ago when Sanctuary Wealth beat Merrill Wealth Management in hiring.
Managing Director of Sanctuary at the time Phillip “Phill” R. Porpora, Jr. He met James “Jim” M. Corrigan when he was a young broker at Wall Street’s venerable Merrill Lynch.
Former Porpora boss Vince Fertitta to leave Merrill for Sanctuary 2019where he became president, and in 2021 Recruitment and support for Leadership Mid-America concluded successfully April 28when Porpora brought Corrigan’s now mature team to the Sanctuary as the Burnham Harbor Private Wealth group.
The acquisition brings in a team of four senior star advisors in Chicago with an annual output value of approximately $4 million and assets under management of approximately $1 billion who will operate as registered investment advisors.
“Relationships are really important,” Fertitta said in an interview. He added that Popola had “built strong relationships” at Merrill in the past. “If we didn’t have Phil, I don’t know we wouldn’t have Burnham either.”
It’s those old relationships that new firms like Sanctuary, a hybrid registered investment advisor founded in 2018plans to reap now as they scoop up and deploy former regional executives from top firms like Merrill Lynch, even including FuGuo bank and Swiss bank These roles are being cut.
what took the cake
The Burnham team included managing partners Corrigan, David Holtkamp, Sean M. Jucas and Kenneth Shay, as well as Wealth Associates Basel Alwawi and Cindy Hehr. Their primary client base is high-net-worth families, including “business owners, entrepreneurs, executives, doctors and physicians, professional athletes and philanthropists,” Press release. They specialize in providing services including estate planning, retirement, tax strategy and transition planning.
Fertitta said the team had 18 months of due diligence ahead of the move and they had a number of options to consider. usuallyconsultants take about four to six months to vet a new firm before jumping ship, and about three to nine months, or in some cases a year, to seek independence.
The team hired a counselor to help them reconnect with those in the shelter, and the old relationship with Porpora was revived.
Ultimately, Corrigan’s team was drawn to Sanctuary because of its strong platform and liberal culture, Corrigan said in a press release, adding that his team was “off the wire mill” but wasn’t ready to “go out on its own.” ’ to achieve complete independence—it’s looking for a Goldilocks situation that can provide both,” Sanctuary replied.
“The way the Sanctuary model works is that it allows consultants to run and run their own standalone business. But without a lot of the hassle that consultants don’t like running and running their own RIA,” recruiter Jason Diamond said in an interview. “This supported stand-alone model, these platform RIA companies like Sanctuary, has had tremendous success, and I hope that will continue.”
“Sanctuary’s management team understands our model,” Corrigan said in the release, adding that the company “provides us with a way to operate in a familiar The best way to run our business.”
“Sanctuary will allow us to be more creative in how we acquire our clients or business books, as well as how we staff the office and plan for internal succession,” Shay added in the release.
According to the group, their chosen name reflects this focus on creativity and appeal to entrepreneurial clients website. ‘Burnham’ is a tribute to the architect and urban planner at the School of the Fine Arts of Chicago Daniel Burnham “Harbor” is intended to convey safety amidst market volatility and “pay homage to Chicago’s seaport,” the website says.
Sanctuary’s “network” currently includes advisory teams, or “partner firms,” in 28 states across the country, with approximately $25 billion in advisory assets,” the company said in a release.
Heritage Merrill Excellence
Fertitta said the team is notable not only for its size — he says the average Sanctuary team has an output of about $3.5 million and assets of $500 million — but also for the range of its professional designations.
Corrigan is a certified financial planner and certified private wealth advisor. Holtkamp is a CFP and Chartered Financial Analyst. Jucas is a CFP, CPWA, and sports and entertainment certified wealth management advisor. Shay is a CFA and past president of the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute of Chicago.
Corrigan is also “Forbes’ Best In-State Wealth Advisor for High Net Worth Clients in Illinois for 2022 and 2023,” according to the release, and has been recognized by the Financial Times.
“I don’t know how many teams are professionally designated like they are,” Fertitta said.
For Fertitta, the range of expertise mirrors the consultants on the team, the veteran Merrill Lynch under John Thiel, who retired in 2017 and was replaced by Andy Sieg. In the Thiel era, consultants were encouraged to reach their full potential, Fertitta said, by pursuing such a credential.
“When John retired and Andy came in, they really shifted their focus away from some of the professionalism and into new account openings – for some of the bigger teams it seemed and felt richer, A retail banking type of model, rather than getting better, getting better, honing your craft, dealing with complex situations, helping families create generational wealth, etc.”
Corrigan’s LinkedIn profile Still, he said he earned his CFP designation in 2013 and his CPWA in 2019, suggesting some investment in these forms of professional development under Sieg’s leadership.According to him, Jucas was appointed between 2017 and 2022 LinkedIn profile. Holtkamp Obtained CFP in 2011 and CFA in 2018. Shay does not appear to have LinkedIn, but online searches show he has held the CFA designation since at least late 2018. 1990s.
Changes in the Thundering Herd
The team’s departure comes at a time when Merrill leads a new era Without ex-President Chigurh, who left in march Leading Citigroup’s wealth management — though apparently the team plans to leave sooner.
But Fertitta said the culture at Merrill and other wire companies had shifted under parent Bank of America long before Sieg left.
Over the years, consultants at wirehouses, including Merrill Lynch, had increasingly felt “stupid” and felt their skills were atrophied in their firms, he said.
“What’s going on is just institutionalizing advisors,” providing a homogenized experience for clients, he said. “If you walked into an office in San Francisco, you would have the exact same experience as if you walked into Raleigh, North Carolina.”
“It reduces the entrepreneurial spirit of advisors. It deprives them of their creativity, skill set and specific acumen in serving clients.”
Places that still value individuality and place an emphasis on deep relationships can attract such advisors, Fertitta said.
“They need to know when something is wrong and your nose is in their foxhole … When you build a relationship, it’s not just a sales pitch.”
Another group of consultants, management About US$875 million Assets, also announced Tuesday that they have left Merrill Lynch to launch their own RIA in New Jersey and support independence through Dynasty.Earlier this year, Sanctuary poached another big team from Merrill $1.5 billion under management ——It also depends on the strength of relationships. In this case, Fertitta has maintained it for nearly two decades.
The Burnham team is also intergenerational, so they will have the opportunity to continue to grow the business and pass it on to the next generation of advisors on the team, Fertitta said.
“It’s a young group with a lot of runway and they’re going to be hugely successful, and we’re excited to be a part of it.”
