Two veteran wirehouse advisors have left their firms to join Uniting Wealth Partners (UWP), a Denver-based registered investment advisor that emphasizes advisor ownership and enterprise building. Dana Cornell, who spent 13 years at Morgan Stanley managing roughly $1 billion in client assets for ultra-high-net-worth clients, and Kyle Kirk, who oversaw a $100 million book at Ameriprise Financial in northern Pennsylvania, have both landed at UWP's Olean, New York office.
The moves underscore a broader trend: independent and hybrid RIA channels have grown from about 20% of advisor headcount in 2014 to 31% in 2024, according to Cerulli Associates. Wirehouse breakaways continue at a steady pace as advisors seek more control and a wider array of services.
Cornell said his clients' needs extend beyond portfolio management. "My clients' needs go beyond managing an investment portfolio," he said. "UWP gives us access to M&A advisory, property and casualty insurance, trust services and lending, along with the infrastructure of a much larger organization, while allowing us to remain independent owners of our business."
Kirk, who is making a simultaneous break from Ameriprise, joins Cornell at the Olean office, adding capacity to support growth. The pair's combined $1.1 billion in assets under management gives UWP a significant boost in the upstate New York market.
UWP Managing Partner John Phoenix said the combination of Cornell and Kirk demonstrates what the firm is trying to build at scale. "Dana built and managed a great book at Morgan Stanley and is now choosing UWP as the platform from which to build his next one," Phoenix said. "At the same time, Kyle is leaving Ameriprise to join him. That combination demonstrates what we are building: an advisor-owned firm with the capabilities of the largest wealth-management organizations, but without the traditional middleman."
UWP co-founder Jay Hummel emphasized that the firm does not rely on standardized deal structures. "There's no standard UWP deal because there is no standard advisor," Hummel said. "We start with what the advisor is trying to accomplish and build the partnership around those objectives. Dana's needs are different from other UWP advisors, and his structure should reflect that. What all our partner advisors share is majority ownership of their own businesses along with ownership in the larger enterprise we're building together."
Cornell's move fits that profile. His focus on ultra-high-net-worth clients—whose needs extend into areas such as M&A advisory, trust services, and specialty lending—reflects a broader shift in how top-tier advisors are thinking about their value proposition and what infrastructure they need to deliver it. The trend is also visible in recent wirehouse moves and in the hiring of veterans from other firms.
UWP's model is designed to attract advisors from across the wealth management spectrum—wirehouse, independent broker-dealer, bank, and RIA—by offering majority ownership of individual practices alongside equity in the broader partnership. This approach has resonated with advisors like Cornell and Kirk, who see it as a way to build a lasting enterprise.
As the independent channel continues to grow, firms like UWP are positioning themselves as alternatives to the traditional wirehouse model. The addition of Cornell and Kirk is a signal that even advisors with large books and long tenures at major firms are willing to make the leap when the structure aligns with their goals.
