Equita Financial Network Welcomes Astraea Wealth
Pennsylvania-based Equita Financial Network said Astraea Wealth Management has become the seventh partner firm on its platform built for women-led and independently owned fee-only firms.
From Midwest Capital Advisors, where she spent more than five years, Laura Corbiani launched Astraea on the Equita platform last month with plans to “integrate financial planning, investment management, and coaching for resilient women, anxious savers and the LGBTQ+ community.”
A visual artist and former research scientist, Corbiani spent time as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch and then for Atria’s CUSO Financial Services before joining Midwest in late 2018.
Named for the Greek goddess of justice, purity and precision, Astraea will be focused on serving successful women in male-dominated fields and investors who feel financially anxious, overlooked or unseen, she said.
“I’m grateful to have the opportunity to build this human-first focused financial planning firm, with the mission to have the financial planning experience be welcoming and judgement-free,” Corbiani said in a statement. “[I] would not have been able to do it as well without the support of the Equita network and other women CFP professionals who have stepped up and encouraged me to take the leap.”
“The launch of another women-owned advisory firm reflects a positive trend in the industry, adding to the reduction of the gender gap in financial services,” added Equita co-founder Bridget Venus Grimes. “Equita is thrilled to help Laura grow a successful firm. We have watched other women on our platform do just this and their growth has been remarkable.”
With some $307 million in collective assets, Equita was founded by Grimes and Katie Burke in 2018 and celebrated its fifth anniversary in May. The women, both CFPs, structured Equita to reflect their own experiences as RIA owners (Grimes’ WealthChoice and Burke’s Method Financial are both on the Equita platform).
Member firms are able to develop their own independent brand identity and service model under the Equita ADV, there is no exchange of equity and there are two tiers of membership available.
A basic membership includes access to a members-only community platform, automatic registration and complimentary access to a series of educational webinars and host of network events for $39 per month.
For $1,500 a month and an asset-based portfolio management fee of 20 bps a year, Equita Signature Platform members receive all that and: an Advyzon-based technology platform offering a customizable client portal, CRM, performance reporting and billing, along with 24-hour tech support; financial planning software provided by eMoney; E&O, cyber liability and wire fraud coverage; compliance; invoicing, investment and practice management support; and portfolio implementation and management resources.
Charles Schwab is the firm’s custodian.
Apella Wealth Hits $4B with 6th Acquisition in 2 1/2 Years
Connecticut-based Apella Wealth, a private equity-backed RIA, has acquired an East Coast RIA that brings total assets to more than $4 billion across close to 4,000 households and more than 100 institutional clients.
In Reston, Va., ClearLogic Financial is owned and led by Mark Atherton, who is joining Apella as a regional director. He brings with him about $464 million in client assets and a team of seven that includes four financial planners, a portfolio analyst, a platform and billing analyst and a client relationship manager with experience serving professionals and retirees in federal and private sectors.
The acquisition, which closed on April 12, is Apella’s sixth since selling a minority stake to Wealth Partners Capital Group and HGGC in the fall of 2021, when the firm was overseeing around $2.4 billion. It is the 17th in the firm’s history.
Acquired firms adopt Apella branding, become W-2 employees and gain access to a technology platform and menu of resources that includes retirement plan specialists, research, marketing and educational resources for clients.
“By partnering with Apella, my team can focus more time and energy on serving our clients and spend less time on the administrative aspects of running a business,” Atherton said in a statement.
