Lazar brings more than three decades of tax, management and family office experience to the board. He is executive director and responsible for strategic leadership at Milburn Services, a single-family office in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Previously, Lazard was president of Threshold Group in the Greater Seattle area, overseeing the firm’s growth from a single-family office into a leading national provider of multi-family office services. He also served as a tax practice partner at Arthur Andersen & Co.

LNW chief executive is Kristen Bauer; the firm, which has almost $16 billion in AuM, has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Raymond James
Raymond James has brought in financial advisors Bryan Burkhart, Gretchen Burkhart and Gabriele Burkhart to its employee advisor channel, based in Sullivan, Indiana.

The team is joined by senior client service associate Lisa Chastain and client service associate Megan Simpson, who have arrived from Edward Jones, where they managed more than $250 million in client assets. 

As Burkhart Wealth and Retirement of Raymond James, they serve healthcare professionals, business owners, pre-retirees and retirees as a part of RJA’s Evansville branch, led by branch manager Timothy Gunn.

Bryan Burkhart holds the Accredited Asset Management Specialist™ designation and an undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Southern Indiana. Burkhart began his career in 1993 at Edward Jones where he served clients for over 30 years.

Baird
US wealth and financial services group Baird has appointed Robert M Sargent as a director and financial advisor in its wealth management office in Fairfax, Virginia. 

He is joined at the branch by client assistant, Kaitlyn Powell.

The Fairfax office, which recently opened in January 2024, is part of Baird’s continued private wealth management expansion in the state. The firm also has three other locations in Virginia in Lynchburg, Richmond and McLean. 

Sargent previously worked at Edelman Financial Engines where he managed $245 million in assets. He has 15 years of industry experience and holds the Certified Financial Planner designation. 

Avantax
Avantax, a financial planning and wealth management firm that is part of the Cetera Holdings group of firms, has added new financial advisors to its ecosystem.

Bringing about $390 million of combined assets under administration, the following financial professionals and firms have joined the Avantax network in 2024:

-- Ali Kazemi and his Sentinel Financial Group, based near San Francisco, joined Avantax from LPL Financial; 
-- Financial advisor Amy Wright, based near Des Moines, Iowa, joined after being affiliated with LPL Financial. She plans to operate as Wright Financial Solutions; 
-- Joseph Schwan, CPA, and his Long Island, New York-based Premier Wealth Management LLC, joined from LPL Financial; 
-- Independent financial advisor Allan Thompson, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, joined from Ameriprise Financial; 
-- Financial advisor George Escobar and his Covina, California-based Xavier Consulting, joined Avantax from Next Financial Group; 
-- Ken Ulrich and John Ariola, both independent financial advisors, brought their East Amherst, New York-based Progressive Planning Services from Lincoln Financial; 
-- Scot Sageser and William Hubbard, both independent financial advisors, joined along with their Defender Financial Services Group, based near Seattle, from World Equity Group; and 
-- Independent financial advisor W Townsend Morris, based in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, joined Avantax from Kestra Financial.