Sanctuary Wealth has expanded its base in Texas with the addition of Chappell Wealth Management, a former Merrill Lynch team with $1.5 billion in assets under management, according to a news release.

The team in Woodlands, Texas, is the 17th in the state for Indianapolis-based Sanctuary and its largest producing wirehouse breakaway team since the firm launched in 2018, the release noted.

The seven-member Woodlands team is led by co-founders and managing partners Brent Chappell and Brad Chappell, managing partner Michael Mills and financial advisor Spencer Carlson. The team is supported by Chel Larkin, Jaymie Wendt, and Brianna Warren.

“When we saw that by partnering with Sanctuary we would have a choice of custodians with all the freedom and flexibility of best-in-class resources, wrapped up in a structure that largely eliminates conflicts of interest, we just knew this was the right place for us,” Brent Chappell said in a statement. He began his career with Merrill Lynch in 2003, according to BrokerCheck.

His brother Bradley Chappell, who began with Merrill Lynch in 2006, added: “By partnering with Sanctuary, we see real opportunities to grow our business that weren't available to us previously and wouldn't exist in a lateral move to another wirehouse.”

The team is the first to join Sanctuary since the firm replaced founder Jim Dickson with Adam Malamed as its CEO earlier this month. Malamed is a former Ladenburg Thalmann chief operating officer. Sanctuary described the move as part of its plan to embark “on the next stage of growth.”

Malamed said in the release, “The deep and extensive roots that our leadership team has across the wirehouse segment continue to position our firm as the destination of choice for wirehouse breakaway advisors. With access to Sanctuary's open architecture platform, cutting-edge technology, and comprehensive support, Chappell Wealth Management is poised for significant future success. Equally important, Chappell Wealth Management's decision to align with Sanctuary reflects the broader strength of our pipeline and robust growth prospects throughout this year and beyond.”