Stonebridge Financial Group, the $1.5 billion wealth management and corporate retirement services firm, has found the first advisor for its newly launched 1099 RIA platform.
WhiteCliff Wealth Management CEO Robert Seiden is joining Stonebridge’s new RIA, which launched in early February after preparation that began in the third quarter of last year.
Seiden entered the industry in 2009, according to Stonebridge. His history includes stints at Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and LPL Financial (among others) before landing at Triad Advisors in 2018, according to his IAPD profile (in 2018, Triad recruited Stonebridge from Wells Fargo). Seiden managed $30 million at WhiteCliff.
Stonebridge Director and COO Cody Gehman said the firm was “thrilled” Seiden was its first advisor for the 1099 platform, particularly after partnering with him for more than five years.
“We are also excited to service more advisors just like Bob who maintain their own brand but are looking for an outsourced solution for compliance, client operations and portfolio management,” Gehman said.
Though Stonebridge now offers advisory services via its own RIA after leaving Triad’s corporate RIA, it’s still dually registered with Triad acting as its broker/dealer.
The Doylestown, Penn.-based Seiden offers financial planning, investing and risk management through his firm and said joining Stonebridge’s 1099 platform was an “easy decision” for a solo practitioner like himself, touting the portfolio management, compliance and general back-office support.
Stonebridge is focused on working with clients in central Pennsylvania, but the new RIA setup will make it easier to assist advisors locally and throughout the country. Making the change necessitated repapering all the firm’s investment agreements. According to Stonebridge, the firm works with corporate clients, as well as families, business owners and institutions.
Originally, Triad was a subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann, but in early 2020, Advisor Group acquired Ladenburg, creating one of the industry’s largest broker/dealer networks with about 11,300 advisors and more than $450 billion in client assets (Advisor Group later rebranded to Osaic).