A former Merrill Lynch team that handled $5.1 billion in client assets has joined Rockefeller Global Family Office, the wealth management division of Rockefeller Capital Management, in Grand Rapids, Mich., according to a news release.
Axiom Wealth Partners, a 26-person group, is led by managing directors and private advisors Jeffrey Towner, David Lund, Brett Howell and Craig Sharp. The team, formerly the Towner Lund Group and the Towner Lund Howell Sharpe & Associates, was recently listed as No. 43 on the Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams list for this year. According to the listing, the team managed $5.1 billion in AUM.
Towner, Lund and Sharp began their careers with Merrill Lynch in 1996, 1999 and 2000, respectively. Howell started with Liberty Life Securities in 2000, where he spent eight months before joining Merrill Lynch, according to BrokerCheck.
The team’s other advisors include senior vice presidents and private advisors Jonathan Lund and Jeff Dykstra as well as vice presidents and private advisors Joel Barrett, Christine Steinmetz, Emie Badersnider and Zach Gebben. All except for Barrett started with Merrill Lynch. Barrett started with Edward Jones in 2006 and moved after six months to Merrill Lynch in 2007.
Axiom Wealth Partners also includes senior client relationship managers Jim Harding and Sammy Salas-Salinas; client relationship managers Taylor Dewey, Heather Jensen, and Justin Katz; senior client associates Nicole Dionne, Maureen Dodd, and Michelle Williams; investment manager JT Ludington; wealth management analysts Hannah May, Connor Gillis, and Noah Jones; marketing associate Erin Lindsay; and client associates Tyler Smyth, Susan Perry, and Jacob Howell.
The team will report to Brett Thelander, Northern Divisional director of Rockefeller Global Family Office.
“Axiom Wealth Partners is a highly accomplished team of professionals with a reputation for excellence and integrity that aligns perfectly the Rockefeller brand and culture,” Christopher Dupuy, president of Rockefeller Global Family Office, said in a statement.
Established in 2018, Rockefeller Capital Management offers services in 48 locations across the U.S. and one in London. As of December 31, the firm was responsible for $122 billion in client assets across its three businesses, Rockefeller Global Family Office, Rockefeller Asset Management and Rockefeller Strategic Advisory.