The competition for experienced financial advisors across the East Coast showed no signs of slowing this week, as three separate moves reshaped the rosters at major firms. Cetera Financial Group pulled in a sizable practice from North Carolina, while Ameriprise Financial both recruited and lost seasoned professionals in the same period.
Durham team moves to Cetera's Summit channel
Tucker Bria Wealth Strategies, a Durham, North Carolina-based practice led by Jim Tucker and Patrick Bria, has joined Cetera through its Summit Financial Networks community. The team brings roughly $420 million in assets under administration, according to a statement from Cetera. The firm, which has operated since 2013, focuses on clients going through major life transitions such as inheritances, business sales, and other significant financial events.
Tucker and Bria, who met as teenagers in Pittsburgh and later swam together at Duke University, spent more than a decade at Commonwealth Financial Network before LPL Financial's acquisition of Commonwealth last year prompted them to explore other options. Their search considered both traditional broker-dealer models and independent RIA platforms before they settled on Cetera's Summit community. The team said it was able to retain its existing custodial relationship with Fidelity's National Financial Services and continue using third-party technology already integrated into its client service workflow.
Jim Tucker emphasized the importance of finding a partner that offered robust compliance, technology, and back-office support without forcing the practice to overhaul its operations. "We wanted a partner strong enough to provide the compliance, technology and back-office support we didn't want to build ourselves, but flexible enough to let us keep running our business exactly the way we always have," he said. The firm's next generation of advisors, including Josh Polidori, Chris Bleeker, and Taylor Clement, already serve as primary contacts for many second- and third-generation clients.
Cetera reported that its advisor network manages approximately $630 billion in assets under administration and $296 billion in assets under management as of March 31. The addition of Tucker Bria continues Cetera's recent pattern of recruiting teams from Commonwealth, following similar moves by other firms. For more on that trend, see IFP's recent Commonwealth hires.
Ameriprise gains in Florida, loses in New Jersey
In Boca Raton, Florida, advisor Mitchell Edenbaum has moved his practice to Ameriprise Financial's branch channel after departing Oppenheimer & Co. Edenbaum, a three-decade industry veteran, brings more than $145 million in client assets. He cited Ameriprise's technology platform, institutional commitment to advisor growth, and strong leadership as key factors in his decision. "I'm excited about this next chapter and look forward to leveraging the firm's capabilities to continue delivering exceptional service while growing my business," Edenbaum said. He is supported locally by Branch Manager Drew Granauro, Complex Director Dan Landrau, and Regional Vice President Mike Rearden.
Ameriprise noted that it has added roughly 1,700 advisors over the past five years, a pace the firm attributes to continued investment in its advisor support infrastructure. The firm has also committed to significant technology spending, as detailed in Ameriprise's $1B annual AI investment.
Meanwhile, in Holmdel, New Jersey, longtime advisor Christopher Grella has joined Prudential Advisors' NJ Wealth Partners. Grella departed Ameriprise, where he most recently served as a vice president overseeing more than $110 million in client assets. His career has spanned Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Janney Montgomery Scott, and MetLife before an extended run as an independent advisor and later at Ameriprise. According to his BrokerCheck record, Grella is currently registered as an investment advisor and broker at LPL, which in 2024 completed a partnership deal with Prudential to provide operational support to thousands of Prudential's retail advisors.
Rob Nigro, managing director at Prudential Advisors, said Grella's emphasis on long-term, generational client relationships aligned with the firm's approach at NJ Wealth Partners, which operates on an open-architecture platform designed for established advisors seeking to scale their practices. Prudential Advisors supports more than 3,000 financial advisors nationally, while parent company Prudential Financial reported approximately $1.6 trillion in assets under management as of June 30.
The moves underscore the ongoing reshuffling of advisor talent across the industry, with firms competing on technology, support, and culture. For more on recent advisor moves, see LPL, Raymond James, Merrill luring advisors and Ameriprise, Prospera, Raymond James adding teams.
