A Wilmington, N.C.-based advisor team led by Katie Medina has departed Merrill Lynch to form TOVA Wealth on Sanctuary Wealth’s platform. At the same time, RBC Wealth Management has added John Terrion, a $438 million AUM advisor from Merrill, to its Boulder, Colo. office.
TOVA launches with more than $400 million in client assets, and includes advisors Michael Tunney and Eric Starkey and Client Associate Amy Kepler.
Medina, who will serve as founder and managing partner of TOVA, was with Merrill for 16 years. Tunney was with the wirehouse for 10 years, while Starkey was there for the last seven years.
According to a statement, Vince Fertitta, president of wealth management at Sanctuary, said the team wanted more autonomy to run their business as they saw fit.
“They believed that remaining employees of a large bank was no longer the best environment, which is why they sought a platform that provides everything they used at their prior firm and much more,” Fertitta said. “After thorough reflection and due diligence, they chose Sanctuary Wealth’s hybrid, multi-custodial and shared ADV model, where they are not only empowered to enhance the value of service they deliver to clients but also are joining a culture of like-minded former wirehouse advisors who have also decided to unlock the asset they have worked so hard to build.”
In a statement, Medina said her team was attracted to Sanctuary because of its multi-custodial platform and the firm’s experience transitioning other wirehouse teams to independence.
"After enjoying years of hard work building our practice at our former firm, I hardly recognize the institution it has become, and we needed to make a change for our team and clients,” she said in a statement. “Sanctuary speaks our language and comes highly recommended by others who have left Merrill to start their own business within the network. We only want to make this type of transition once, so we had to find the right partner to ensure success."
Prior to starting at Merrill, Medina was a Peace Corps volunteer. She now volunteers with the CFP Board and is on its Council on Examinations, where she provides recommendations on the certification exam and process.
Since launching five years ago, Sanctuary has grown into one of the nation’s largest pure RIA platforms, primarily through the recruitment of wirehouse breakaways. Today, the firm oversees around $42 billion in client assets through 120 partner firms in 30 states.
In May, Sanctuary acquired tru Independence, a Portland, Ore.-based RIA support platform that works with 30 firms managing $12.5 billion in client assets. Tru now operates as a separate entity from Sanctuary, maintaining its brand and leadership team.
Last February, Sanctuary founder Jim Dickson was suddenly terminated, and the board of directors named Adam Malamed, a board member, to replace him as CEO.
Dickson recently launched Elevation Point, an investment firm he says will take minority stakes in RIAs with $200 million to $3 billion in client assets and help those firms grow. He has partnered with Mark Penske, founder and chairman of United Atlantic Capital, a privately owned financial services holding company, on the new venture.
Sanctuary is majority-owned by Azimut Group, a European-based asset management firm. In July 2022, Sanctuary announced it closed on a deal with New York-based Kennedy Lewis Investment Management, a credit manager, to receive $175 million in financing in the form of a convertible note.
Separately, RBC also added a Merrill Lynch advisor, with Terrion joining its Boulder office. He has 26 years of experience in the industry (almost all of it with Merrill, according to SEC records). Investment Associate Meagan Belford will join him.
RBC Rocky Mountain Complex Director Dan Ball called Terrion’s move “a significant win” for the firm’s Boulder branch, saying an advisor like him would enhance the firm’s visibility in the city.
Last month, RBC attracted a $640 million team in Paramus, N.J. to join the firm from Merrill Lynch. The Callot Wealth Management Group is led by David Callot, an advisor and managing director with more than 30 years of industry experience. In May, RBC added The Barnes Group and the Pollard Team, two Maryland-based teams coming from Merrill and collectively managing about $900 million in assets.
