A former Boston Private president has left the institutional space to launch an independent registered investment advisory firm on the Dynasty Financial Partners platform.
The latest firm to leverage Dynasty’s technology platform and menu of practice management resources, PUREfi Wealth, which registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in October, is led by founder and CEO Paul Simons. He spent 20 years with Merrill Lynch and more than five as co-head of Private Banking at Credit Suisse before joining Boston Private as president of private banking, wealth and trust, following stints with Fusion IQ and Seaport Global Holdings between 2014 and 2018.
(Boston Private was acquired by Silicon Valley Bank in 2021; SVB became part of First Citizens Bank following its failure early this year.)
Partner and Senior Wealth Advisor Sandy Galuppo, a former professional hockey player who also spent more than two decades at Merrill Lynch before moving to Boston Private in 2019, joined Simons at PUREfi this month.
Over the coming year, the Boston-based duo plans to expand into “key markets” through the recruitment of like-minded advisors, according to an announcement.
Simons said the technology, access to service providers and investment solutions available on platforms such as Dynasty have “eliminated many of the advantages of scale and enabled independent advisory firms to launch and serve clients efficiently.”
“We believe that clients and advisors alike are increasingly disenfranchised with large and complex financial institutions, and that we can provide an exceptional experience and positive outcomes for clients as an independent firm,” he said.
Established in late 2010, Dynasty oversees around $80 billion in assets across three business segments—an integrated technology platform comprising more than 50 partner firms and over 300 advisors that accounts for a little more than half of assets, a turnkey asset management service and a new investment banking arm launched earlier this year to provide industry insight and financial flexibility for potential and existing partner firms.
The firm is on track to reach a goal of more than $100 billion in assets by the next July 4, according to Dynasty CEO Shirl Penney, who said the breakaway teams launching on the platform have gotten larger in recent years.
“The move to independence is accelerating, and we are seeing senior executives and sophisticated teams choosing independence as the path that best benefits advisors and their clients,” said Dynasty Vice Chairman Andrew Marsh.