Seeking to grow through acquisitions, Dan Whittenburg is moving his family operated practice, Whittenburg Wealth Partners, to LPL Financial’s broker-dealer platform and its affiliate, Stratos Wealth Partners, a $12.5 billion registered investment advisor, according to a company release.
Whittenburg and his team manage approximately $475 million in brokerage and advisory assets. They join from Lincoln Financial.
Founded by Whittenburg, who has more than 30 years of experience as a wealth advisor, the Salt Lake City practice includes his son and partner, Austyn Whittenburg, advisor and son-in-law Rick Gallacher, business operations manager and Dan Whittenburg’s wife, Teri Whittenburg, and the support staff Katie Nagahi and Liz Lines.
The firm primarily works with business owners and successful families who hire them to put together a team of attorneys, accountants and financial advisors to address all facets of their complex financial needs.
“We have made great strides with organic growth through personal introductions, but we understand growth through practice acquisition is key, Whittenburg said in a prepared statement. “LPL and Stratos know how to resource and vet out practices for acquisition and they have the capital, resources and support to help close the deal.”
He said LPL and Stratos were compelling choices after analyzing the landscape. “These two companies have corporate cultures rooted in innovation and client service. We now have access to advanced tools, technology, research and value-add resources offered by both,” he said. “As we continue evolving and planning for the future, we believe LPL Financial and Stratos Wealth Partners will help us be well-positioned to operate successfully for decades to come.”
Stratos’ founding partner and chief development officer Charles Shapiro said they are excited to welcome Whittenburg in the Utah market. “The Whittenburgs are a terrific high-net-worth planning team that will complement our national presence of 300 advisor partners. We are proud that the Whittenburgs found value in our robust hybrid platform, suite of innovative technology and proven experience in the M&A space to help propel their growth going forward,” he said.
Stratos, which offers operational, strategic and revenue-generating resources, as well as, a reliable infrastructure allowing advisors the flexibility to develop and grow his/her own business, manages more than $6.3 billion in advisory assets and advises through LPL Financial, more than $6.2 billion in brokerage and third-party managed assets for a total of 12.5 billion as of September 30, the release noted.