Another RIA Flies From The Launchpad

Tom Burroughes

13 February 2019

A financial services professional since the early 1990s, Perry Mattern, has launched a registered investment advisor firm based in Denver, Colorado. The business is called Mattern Capital Management.

Mattern previously worked at Wells Fargo Advisors and his move is part of a trend of advisors working in large organizations setting up their own businesses.

Beginning his advisory career with AG Edwards & Sons in 2000, Mattern built a wealth management team which continued to work together through that firm’s acquisition by Wachovia Securities, followed by Wells Fargo’s acquisition of Wachovia in 2008, and now at Mattern Capital Management.

First Clearing, a member of SIPC, a registered broker/dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company, will provide securities execution and brokerage clearance services for Mattern.

“We set out to address two big issues, the fiduciary standard of care and accessing best-in-class technology. Our clients expect us to be thorough, deliberate, and proactive as we guide them and manage their assets. We solved both issues,” Mattern said.

“We’ve always believed in and conducted ourselves as fiduciaries, so it was obvious that becoming a fee-only Registered Investment Adviser, working only for our client, was the logical next step. The industry has changed dramatically in the past few years, and it was important for us to be able to serve our clients as their fiduciary. As an RIA, we will be able to conduct business in a way that is truer to our core mission and values,” he said.

Recent months have seen a number of new RIA businesses get started. For example, a new US wealth management firm was set up in January, created by the former 360 Group team that looked after $650 million in client money at Morgan Stanley. Under its moniker of Opal Wealth Advisors, the new business is structured as an independent registered investment advisor and is founded by Lee A Korn, Jesse Giordano, CFP® and Joseph N Filosa, CFP®. The team includes a total of eight people.

The development is part of a trend of advisors at larger organizations, such as broker-dealers and banks, breaking out to form their own firms, aiming for more independence and control. In parallel, some RIA owners, such as those nearing retirement, have been selling businesses in a consolidation trend.

New entrants last year include Dakota Wealth Management, as seen here, and Frazier Investment Management, and AW Jones Private Advisors. Others include Sanctuary Wealth Partners and the West Coast firm, EPIQ Capital Group.

Mattern Capital Management is integrating providers such as Orion Advisor Services, Redtail, Advicent, and others with technology and custodial support provided by TradePMR, a middle-office solution with a twenty-year track-record of serving thousands of RIAs.