Lebenthal Wealth Advisors, the
recently founded advisory unit of the storied Wall Street firm Lebenthal Holdings, has planted its flag far from home in its latest round of hiring.
The firm, which has recruited around $2 billion in assets under management since starting out in March,
has hired a former wirehouse manager, Clay Skurdal, and two independent advisers to open a new office in Williston, N.D.
(Advisers on the Move: See all of Lebenthal's recent adviser additions)
The trio will help the firm make inroads into the rapidly growing oil wealth in the area, according to Andy Grillo, president of Lebenthal Wealth.
“It's a very closed community,” Mr. Grillo said. “The opportunity was to get three home-grown guys from Williston to launch this office for us, so that's what we're particularly excited about.”
The two advisers, Brent Lee and Brion Norby, had been running their own firm, TruWealth Financial, an independent affiliate of Voya Financial Advisors Inc., in the city of around 21,000 for about a year. Together, they bring in “north of $1 million” in annual revenue, according to Frank Campanale, Lebenthal's chief executive. He declined to disclose assets under management, however, citing privacy concerns of clients in Williston.
“We felt that having a firm go in there and bring in a bunch of New York City slickers really wasn't the right way to do that,” Mr. Campanale said. “The right way was to work with people who are essentially home-grown.”
(Related read: Frank Campanale expects Lebenthal to hit $5B in assets by 2015)
Mr. Lee has been in the industry for six years, according to registration records with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. He began his career at Securian Financial Services Inc. in Minnetonka, Minn., in 2007, according to his BrokerCheck record.
Mr. Norby has been registered for a total of three years, most recently with Voya Financial Advisors.
Mr. Campanale said that he was approached by Mr. Skurdal, whom he had known from their days at E.F. Hutton & Co. Inc., about opening an office in the area.
Mr. Skurdal, who will head the new office, was most recently with Concert Wealth Management in San Jose, Calif., an investment adviser with around $1.5 billion in advisory assets under management, according to SEC filings.
“[Mr. Skurdal] recognized that there was a huge opportunity in these various pockets of wealth throughout the country that were underserved by competent fee-based wealth management consultants,” Mr. Campanale said. “One of the areas that is underserved is the Bakken oil reserve area where they are virtually printing millionaires daily with people who have had no past experience with investing.”
The three received stock options in the firm as part of their agreement to join Lebenthal, Mr. Campanale said.
