Sandy Bolton, who stepped down as head of wealth management solutions at Ameriprise about a year ago, has launched a new independent advisory practice with Indivisible Partners, the registered investment advisor created by John W. Thiel, the former head of Merrill Lynch, earlier this year.
Late last year, Thiel announced the launch of his new firm, designed, he says, to be an “accelerator” for ambitious advisors looking to grow their business.
Bolton’s new practice, SanWealth Partners in Hazlet, N.J., is the second team to join Indivisible. She’s joined by her husband, Bill Bolton, who will serve as chief operating officer. He has more than 35 years of experience building two financial technology companies, including Convergent Financial Technologies.
Sandy Bolton has had a 34-year career in financial services. Prior to joining Ameriprise, she was chief integration officer and managing director at FS Investments. Prior to that, she was a managing director and head of managed investments in Merrill Lynch’s investment solutions group. Many of Indivisible’s senior leadership came out of Merrill.
“As assets shift hands and the demographics of those seeking advice continue to evolve, advisors will need to better understand clients’ motivations and prioritize personal connection and customized solutions—an opportunity we embrace at SanWealth,” she said, in a statement.
Advisors who join Indivisible have access to family office services, a technology platform powered by curated capabilities and operational support. They own 100% of their own practice and have the opportunity to own equity in the RIA.
Earlier this year, the RIA recruited its first advisor team, New York-based Woodring I LeRoy Capital Advisors, with about $640 million in client assets. The four-person team is led by founder partners Lee Woodring and Robert LeRoy, who were previously with Merrill Lynch.
Thiel’s co-founders include John Hogarty, former COO of Merrill Lynch; Peter Cieszko, a former head of enterprise strategic relationships at American Century; Paul T. Lambert, a former division executive at Merrill; Bill Lorenz, a former division executive and managing director at Merrill; Tom Corra, former head of corporate financial planning and analysis at Fidelity; Tom Fickinger, a former divisional market executive at Merrill; Michael Adornetto, a former COO of Merrill; Alok Kapoor, a former managing director at Merrill; and Stephen Hostetler, former COO of global wealth and retirement solutions at Merrill.
Thiel spent 27 years at Merrill Lynch, including five years as head of the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management business from 2011 to 2016. He subsequently spent a year as vice chairman of the global wealth management and investment management business at Bank of America.
He recently spoke with WealthManagement.com about his firm’s model, how his history with goals-based wealth management will come into play, and the services and technology they want to offer advisors.