New RIA Firm Opens in Rogers
by November 22, 2011 1:12 pm 180 views
After nearly five successful years, the five partners behind AdvisorAlliance LLC in Rogers decided to go their separate ways.
“It was a very successful firm,” said Clay Kendall, one of the principals. “We had some fast growth, and with that came some growing pains, and over time some of the partners wanted to go different directions. We decided that would be best for everybody.”
Three of the individuals — Jim Edmiaston, Jim Mote and Kendall — left to form WealthPath Advisors LLC. The company does business from an office on Village Parkway in Rogers, and also maintains a satellite branch on Center Street in Fayetteville.
The company opened its doors May 16 this year. Kendall said it operates under the same philosophy that guided AA.
“Most investors and retirement plan participants left to their own devices will ultimately fail because they’ll panic and do the wrong thing at the wrong time or select options and never reallocate them,” he said. “It’s not good enough just to provide them information. They need someone to sit down with them face to face and tell them what to do, why to do it, and to continuously work towards their long-term goals. We offer that advice along with a methodology to work toward those goals.”
WealthPath is structured as an affiliate with another registered investment adviser (RIA), PKSA in Albany, N.Y. PKSA does business as WealthPath Investment Advisors LLC, “which is our independent entity,” Kendall said. “We manage money within our firm. The assets and trades occur on their [PKSA] platform.”
WealthPath reported managed assets of $109.8 million in 2011 (see list on page 9).
Tonya McKaughan and Bob Taylor, the other partners with AA, are now with Raymond James & Associates in Rogers, Kendall said.
The five of them were brokers with Morgan Keegan in Rogers before leaving to start AA in October 2006.
The company had garnered $221 million in assets to debut at No. 1 on the Business Journal list of top SEC-registered investment advisers published in November 2007.