Neal Watson, an independent advisor headquartered in Marietta, Ohio, has joined the Phoenix-based Advisor Group network with $110 million in client assets, the company announced.
To join the network, Watson affiliated as an investment advisory representative (IAR) with Commonwealth Financial Services, an Arbor Point Advisors branch office doing business under the Commonwealth brand in Parkersburg, W. Va.. Arbor Point is a registered investment adviser (RIA) and subsidiary of Advisor Group network member firm Securities America. Advisor Group also includes FSC Securities Corporation, Royal Alliance Associates Inc., SagePoint Financial Inc., Triad Advisors LLC and Woodbury Financial Services Inc.
Watson got his start as an advisor in 1996, when he joined Fleming Watson Financial Advisors, an independent RIA affiliated with Securities America, working there until 2004. By 2016, Watson had transitioned the firm his father had co-founded into a pure RIA serving only fee-based accounts.
“In Advisor Group, Arbor Point, and Commonwealth Financial Services, I have gained a set of strategic partners whose goals align flawlessly around my success as a financial advisor,” he said in the news release. “Together, they offer a powerful combination of infrastructure, technology, support services and expertise that I can leverage to take my client-service capabilities to the next level. I’m excited for what the future will bring as I take the next step in my career.”
Through the end of July, Adviso Group brought $8.2 billion in assets under administration to its platform, compared with $6.9 billion for the same period in 2020—a year-over-year (YOY) increase of approximately 19%. Advisor Group also brought in $3.2 billion in assets under management, compared with $2.1 billion in the prior year period—a YOY increase of 52%.
Advisor Group Inc. serves an independent network of about 10,100 financial professionals and oversees more than $475 billion in client assets.