A Texas registered investment advisor has surpassed $1 billion in assets under management by recruiting a team from Wells Fargo Advisors.

Venturi Wealth Management of Austin recently expanded into Oklahoma with its recruitment of Wells Fargo’s Waypoint Investment Group in Oklahoma City. The four-person team brings just over $300 million in assets to Venturi.

The team, led by Joey Sager, a 30-year industry veteran, has previously been named by Barron’s as the top financial advisor in Oklahoma.

“We’ve looked for opportunities to grow our business outside of Austin for more than a year, but this is the first team that we truly felt perfectly aligned with our culture and values,” Venturi CEO and Founding Partner Russ Norwood said in a press release.

The other team members joining Venturi in Oklahoma City are Senior Lead Advisor DeWayne Crunk and Senior Client Associates Melissa Heiman and Pat Fletcher.

In 2015, Norwood and Venturi CIO and Founding Partner George Clark left senior positions at Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group to start Venturi. 

“We share a vision of providing a Mayo-clinic like approach to serving our clients, bringing together top talent from multiple disciplines to advise and manage portfolios from every angle, including asset allocation, tax efficiency and estate planning,” said Sager, now a managing director at Venturi. “The Venturi model is exactly what we were looking to provide our clients, and joining the firm allows us to do this sooner with more resources right out of the gate.” 

Venturi serves approximately 75 clients that are mostly entrepreneurs or senior officers in public companies with goals of protecting and preserving their lifestyle needs, transferring wealth to their children and grandchildren, and funding philanthropic objectives.

“Our clients are first generation wealth creators,” Norwood said. “They have complex planning needs and often children they are concerned about taking care of.  Our goal is to become a strong resource for their families and future generations. We want to build a multigenerational firm and create a path of continuity for our current clients and their families.”