Six former Commonwealth Financial Network teams have come together to form a registered investment advisor platform, Kintra Wealth.
The Williamsport, Penn.-based firm is set to launch with 74 employees in eight states overseeing $4 billion in assets under management. The six firms are making the move after LPL Financial acquired Commonwealth last year, and ahead of a full platform transition that LPL has said will take place toward the end of this year.
Kintra CEO Andy Harris said the firm’s co-founders’ decision was driven partly by the acquisition and partly by a desire to get ahead of what they see as an “inflection point” in the RIA space. Once complete, it will bring together former Commonwealth-affiliated firms Evergreen Wealth Solutions (Harris’ advisory), Loring Advisory Group, McCarthy & Cox, Rembrandt Financial Group, Tupler Financial and Warren Wealth Associates.
“Advisors seem to be faced with two difficult choices—either being truly entrepreneurial and building everything, or joining a pre-built platform in which their voice isn’t necessarily heard,” Harris said. “Kintra was formed as a third option in order to help advisors build together into their ideal platform and community.”
Harris said the co-founders explored a number of options as they headed into the “peak of our careers.” Ultimately, they chose what Harris described as the “harder path” of building a multi-custodial advisor with Orion as its wealth platform provider. He said the goal is a technology stack that can remain nimble in the face of upcoming artificial intelligence changes.
“Instead of stepping onto a boat that’s already left the harbor, Kintra gives a unique opportunity to help design your own ship,” he said. “As a partner, you get meaningful influence of the platform, the culture and the strategy.”
Kintra firms, which will adopt the new name, will work with individuals, families, business owners and institutions with locations in Pennsylvania, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas.
Ownership of the firm is divided between the founders, Harris said, with no one advisor holding a majority. The group worked with the consultancy Marshberry on the firm’s structure and strategy.
They met recently in Austin, Texas, Harris said, to firm up their final intent to merge. There are still some third-party arrangements to be settled before the firm teams complete the merger.
While Harris didn’t commit to others joining the platform, Kintra is primed to add more advisors in the future.
“It appears as though the market is very interested in this idea of having an advisor-aligned merger vehicles concept,” he said.
Kintra also marks further advisor defection from LPL after it completed its acquisition of Commonwealth last August. LPL has said it is on track to retain 80% of Commonwealth assets, which, at the time of the acquisition, represented over $300 billion. The San Diego-based independent broker/dealer will likely give a further update during its earnings call on April 30.
Among RIA aggregators, Merit Financial Advisors has won over several former Commonwealth teams. Other large wealth managers that have landed former Commonwealth include Arkadios Capital, Kestra Holdings, Osaic and Raymond James.
Harris and company will, in the meantime, pitch their coming RIA platform as a smaller, advisor-friendly option.
“Most advisors have to spend a lot of their time doing back office things, whether it’s managing payroll or the tech stack,” he said. “By coming together, we’re able to have a centralized operation that can take care of those things, allowing advisors to focus on what they’re truly best at, and that’s really the magic of this.”
