Breakaway UBS, Morgan Stanley teams form $750M RIA

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View Original Article — InvestmentNews

Houston-based Icon Wealth Partners affiliates with Dynasty Financial Partners

Advisory teams from Houston offices of UBS and Morgan Stanley that collectively managed $750 million have formed Icon Wealth Partners and affiliated with Dynasty Financial Partners.

The new firm is headed by Mark McAdams and Steve Schwarzbach, who came from Morgan Stanley, and Blake Pratz, who was with UBS. Their teams also joined them at the new firm, which is a registered investment adviser, according to a release from Dynasty.

In addition to affiliating with New York-based Dynasty, which provides technology and operational support for RIAs, Icon Wealth Partners has formed strategic partnerships with Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, Black Diamond and Callan, the release said.

Two Leading Financial Advisory Firms Combine to Launch Icon Wealth Partners: Firm Immediately Becomes One of the Largest Independent Wealth Advisory Firms in Texas

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Dynasty Financial Partners Adds Houston-Based Icon Wealth Partners to its Growing Network of Independent Advisory Firms; Team Previously Managed Over $750 Million in Client Assets

Firm Positions Itself as Preferred Destination for Advisors Seeking Independence, Partnership and Succession Planning

NEW YORK — February 23, 2017 — Dynasty Financial Partners today announced that Icon Wealth Partners becomes the most recent independent advisory firm to select Dynasty Financial Partners’ open architecture of wealth management services and technology.

Having previously managed over $750 million in client assets at their prior firms, three founding partners Mark McAdams, Blake Pratz, and Steve Schwarzbach launched Icon Wealth Partners as an independent advisory firm on February 17, 2017. Mr. Pratz had previously worked at UBS and Mr. McAdams and Mr. Schwarzbach previously worked at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. Icon Wealth Partners is based in Houston, Texas and it immediately becomes one of the largest independent advisory firms in Texas. Icon Wealth Partners serves a select clientele of high net worth individuals, business owners and professionals, with particular expertise working with law partners and their firms.

All Founding Partners have decades of experience and significant expertise in wealth management: Mr. Pratz was a Senior Vice President at UBS and Mr. McAdams was a Senior Vice President at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. Mr. Schwarzbach holds the Certified Private Wealth Advisor® designation.

With over two decades of experience and deep financial planning proficiency, Ricardo Mihaly joins Icon Wealth Partners as Senior Director of Planning and Investments. Icon Wealth Partners’ service and client relationship management team members are all long-tenured professionals. Senior Client Relationship Managers Cindy Pickett and Jennifer Moore join Icon Wealth Partners from UBS. Senior Client Relationship Manager Annette Latigue joins Icon Wealth Partners from Morgan Stanley.

“At Icon Wealth Partners, we look forward to partnering with Dynasty to bring the industry’s best resources to our clients. We all feel passionately that we can serve our clients’ needs better as an independent firm. There is a tremendous potential for us to now broaden our existing relationships and develop new ones,” said Founding Partner Mr. Schwarzbach. “We believe strongly that the independent model is the best way for us to grow our business, both organically and inorganically.”

“We expect Icon Wealth Partners to be a preferred destination for sophisticated clients who seek deep investment expertise and un-conflicted advice. We also want to position ourselves as a premium choice for advisors seeking independence, partnership and succession planning in their new firm,” said Founding Partner Mr. McAdams.

According to Mr. Pratz, “At Icon Wealth Partners, we plan to build upon our successful program working with attorneys and their firms helping them plan for the specific financial challenges they face. As an independent firm, we can now offer them customized services and personalized financial plans.”

“We are honored to welcome Blake, Mark and Steve along with their employees to the Dynasty community. Icon Wealth Partners immediately becomes one of the largest financial advisory firms in Texas with the intent to attract seasoned, like-minded advisors seeking independence,” said Shirl Penney, CEO of Dynasty Financial Partners.

Icon Wealth Partners has formed strategic partnerships with some of the leading providers including Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services and Dynasty Financial Partners for the robust analytics and operational support that will allow the firm to deliver objective and personalized service at the highest level.

Icon Wealth Partners will engage with Dynasty on building out their practice management including marketing and branding and in streamlining their operations, investments and technology. Icon Wealth Partners will also work with Black Diamond and Callan.

For more information, please visit www.iconwp.com.

About Dynasty Financial Partners

Dynasty Financial Partners develops, sources and integrates management capabilities for some of the industry’s leading independent investment advisor firms Dynasty’s integrated platform services delivery chassis offers a customized, open-architecture wealth management solutions and technology platform supporting advisors as they protect and seek to grow their clients’ wealth. Dynasty’s core principle is “objectivity without compromise,” and the firm is committed to crafting solutions that allow investment advisors to act as true fiduciaries to their clients.

Dynasty Financial Partners has corporate offices in New York City, Chicago, Coral Gables, Florida and San Francisco. Visit our website for more information: www.dynastyfinancialpartners.com. Also visit Dynasty on social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynasty-financial-partners

Twitter: @DynastyFP

Youtube: http://bit.ly/1MKXhC8

UBS, Morgan Stanley Teams in Texas Merge into Independence

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by Grete Suarez

View Original Article — AdvisorHub

A trio of Houston brokers—two from Morgan Stanley and the third from UBS Financial Services—joined forces last Friday to create Icon Wealth Partners, a registered investment adviser, according to Dynasty Financial Partners, which assisted them with the move.

The Morgan Stanley partners, Mark McAdams and Steve Schwarzbach, had been with the brokerage giant and its Smith Barney predecessor since 1993 and 2008 respectively. Blake Pratz, a 31-year securities industry veteran, left UBS in September to set up the new venture.

“We have known Blake for over 20 years,” Schwarzbach said. “It has to do with a longstanding relationship.”

Pratz, who began his career at Dean Witter Reynolds and Texas regional Rotan Mosle before it was absorbed into PaineWebber, worked at Smith Barney for 15 years in the same period that McAdams was there, according to their BrokerCheck histories.

Icon, whose partners were managing about $750 million of client assets, “immediately becomes one of the largest financial advisory firms in Texas with the intent to attract seasoned, like-minded advisors seeking independence,” Dynasty Chief Executive Shirl Penney said in a prepared statement.

The firm targets high net worth individuals, business owners and professionals, with an emphasis on lawyers and their firms, according to the statement. Though the business is primarily fee-based, both Pratz and Schwarzbach are registered to do brokerage business through independent broker-dealer Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, according to Finra’s BrokerCheck database.

Pratz and McAdams said they were eager to link up to ensure continuity for their clients. “Succession is a big part of this business,” McAdams said. “I wouldn’t trust our clients with anyone else but these guys.”

Neither he nor his partners were explicit about their reasons for ending their extended wirehouse careers.

“The drive for independence is less about the previous model we operated in, and more about running our own firm,” Schwarzbach said. “We maintain great relationships with our previous firms.”

In addition to the partners, Icon includes client relationship managers Cindy Pickett and Jennifer Moore, who were at UBS with Pratz, and Annette Latigue from Morgan Stanley. The team also includes Ricardo Mihaly, who joined from MSI Financial Services, who is senior director of planning and investments.