Sanctuary Wealth, a support platform for breakaway advisors, announced its newest addition on Friday. Praetego Private Wealth joins with more than $200 million in client assets under management from JP Morgan.
Based in Trinity, Fla., the Praetego team consists of Founding Partners Dustin Cali and Daniel Ventura, both certified financial planners, and Client Associate Thomas Solfio.
“We take a holistic approach to our clients’ needs that integrates much more than their portfolios into our financial planning,” said Cali. “In considering this move, we interviewed dozens of firms, but Sanctuary’s open architecture platform was the only one that had everything we were looking for.”
“We work to integrate all different aspects of financial planning and Sanctuary’s open architecture platform allows us to leverage solutions from both public and private investment managers,” Ventura said. “We felt that the management team at Sanctuary really understood our business and have the resources to help us do even more with all aspects of our practice.”
Both Cali and Ventura are also certified Enrolled Agents, the highest credential awarded by the Internal Revenue Service, allowing them to represent taxpayers before the IRS for tax issues such as audits, collections and appeals.
“Dustin and Daniel have built a great practice at JP Morgan and, as independent business owners, are well positioned to grow Praetego Private Wealth to even greater heights with the support that Sanctuary brings to the table,” said Sanctuary President Vince Fertitta. “At the same time, their collective experience with tax issues will enhance the level of intellectual capital available throughout our network.”
Separately, Sanctuary, which is majority owned by Italian asset manager Azimut Group, recently signed an agreement with New York-based Kennedy Lewis Investment Management to secure $175 million of financing in the form of a convertible note. The funds will be used to support Sanctuary’s medium-term growth plans, including mergers and acquisitions and strategic investments in technology and talent, according to a press release issued by Azimut. The deal is expected to be completed June 30.
“The transaction allows Sanctuary to have two strong institutional and strategic partners, Kennedy Lewis and Azimut, working together to accelerate and grasp all future growth opportunities in Sanctuary’s increasing distribution platform while strengthening the potential synergies with Azimut Group and its product capabilities across private and liquid investments,” Azimut said in a statement. “At the same time, it allows Azimut to have more flexibility in its use of cash, consistent with what previously announced, including for M&A, buybacks and debt repayment.”
During a conversation at the WealthManagement EDGE conference at The Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Fla. last week, Sanctuary’s founder and CEO Jim Dickson said he specifically looks to add firms with unique talents that can continue to grow organically.
But his number one rule is, “No jerks.”
In just four years, Sanctuary has built up client assets of more than $20 billion under advisement across its platform and Dickson expects that significant growth will continue throughout 2022.
“We’re extremely proud to welcome the first team from JP Morgan who has chosen to join Sanctuary,” Dickson said in a statement. “We have a tremendously strong pipeline of potential new partners and expect this to be Sanctuary Wealth’s most dynamic year to date. We will be making additional announcements as the year progresses.”
Currently, the Sanctuary network includes 74 partner firms across 23 states. The Sanctuary Wealth Group includes the fully owned subsidiaries Sanctuary Advisors, a registered investment advisor, and the broker/dealer Sanctuary Securities, as well as Sanctuary Asset Management, Sanctuary Insurance Solutions, Sanctuary Global, and Sanctuary Global Tax and Family Office.