A Wisconsin-based father/daughter advisory duo with about $120 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets is joining LPL Financial from Thrivent Investment Management, the independent broker/dealer announced Monday.
Father/daughter Robert Viau and Liz Mengo run Northern Lakes Financial Group, based out of Burlington, Wisc. The team includes Kamryn Nardini as a client support specialist.
Viau and Mengo have about 35 years of collective experience in the industry, and offer a range of services, including retirement planning, life insurance, mutual funds and charitable giving solutions.
According to Viau, the team needed a new partner to keep up their business continuity and maintain control over their internal succession plan, and eventually decided on LPL because of its tech platform and service offerings.
“We’re proud of the trust our clients place in us, and we always want to ensure that we’re providing them with the tools that can help them not only reach, but also make the most out of their goals,” Viau said in a statement.
Last week, LPL also announced two new affiliations with Linsco, the broker/dealer’s employee advisor model, which originally launched in 2020. LPL welcomed Beltway Wealth Management, with advisor Gary Edmonds and business management associate Andy Change moving from UBS. The team is based out of Washington, D.C. and manages about $360 million in client assets.
Together, Beltway works with high-net-worth individuals, non-profits, corporate executives and business owners in the D.C. area, specializing in investment and wealth strategies with more than 40 years of total experience. According to Edmonds, the team spoke to several firms when looking for a partner but settled on LPL due to their tech offerings.
“We strategically made this move to gain more independence and ownership of our practice and, in turn, be more strongly positioned to offer additional services to our clients,” Edmonds said in a statement.
Earlier last week, Lisa Tesar, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based advisor managing about $260 million in client assets, joined Linsco from Morgan Stanley. She heads Tesar Group Investment & Financial Planning; she succeeded her father in the business, which began in 1936. She primarily works with older high-net-worth clients and specializes in retirement income.
Tesar works with Client Services Associate Julie Regan and hopes to bring her son onboard to succeed her in the business. She appreciated that Linsco would help her keep her brand name while offloading some onerous business operational demands.
“The fact that we get to steer our own ship and grow at our own pace is huge,” she said.
