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Left to right: Shane Kunz, Chad Horne, and Jason J. Howard
Photo Illustration by Staff; Courtesy of LPL Financial
A trio of Wells Fargo advisors who oversaw $1 billion in client assets quit the wirehouse to join an independent firm under LPL Financial.
Advisors Jason Howard, Shane Kunz, and Chad Horne formed an independent practice, Outcome Private Wealth, with Stratos Wealth Partners. Stratos is a registered investment advisory firm that operates with support from LPL Financial .
Howard, Kunz, and Horne are based in Salt Lake City and have worked together for more than a decade, according to their employer. Their practice includes four support staff members.
The team says they made the move for LPL and Stratos’ technology and platform services. “By moving to LPL and Stratos, we have the flexibility to serve our clients with innovative capabilities and give them the experiences they deserve,” Howard said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for Wells Fargo was unavailable for immediate comment.
Howard had been registered with Wells Fargo since 2002, according to BrokerCheck, a public database maintained by industry self-regulator Finra. Kunz started his advisory career at the bank in 2006 while Horne signed on in 2011, according to BrokerCheck.
Stratos Wealth Partners was founded in 2009, and has since grown to 275 advisors with $18.61 billion in advisory and brokerage assets as of Dec. 31, according to the firm. Founding Partner Charles Shapiro says his firm is pleased to have picked up the advisor trio in Utah, where Stratos aims to expand its operations.
LPL Financial has been on aggressive growth push, recruiting advisors for its multiple affiliation options. In addition to aligning with existing independent practices such as Stratos, advisors can sign up with LPL’s traditional independent broker-dealer, a unit dedicated to assisting wirehouse brokers with going indie, and an employee broker-dealer.
LPL Financial has nearly 20,000 financial advisors and supports about 500 independent registered investment advisory firms.