February 7, 2023
NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Steward Partners Global Advisory, LLC, an employee-owned, full-service independent partnership, is proud to welcome its fourth transition of the year. Clarity Private Wealth Solutions at Steward Partners was formerly affiliated with Wells Fargo Advisors as Ferguson Bailey Private Wealth Management Group. Led by John N. Ferguson, CFP®, CPWA®, CRPS®, and Charles B. Bailey, III, the team also includes Senior Registered Client Associate Kellie Thompson. Based in Mobile, Alabama with approximately $250 million assets under management, the firm works with business owners, corporate executives, retirees, professional athletes, and nonprofit organizations.
“With four successful transitions and nearly $700 million in new assets in the 30 days, Steward Partners is off to a dynamic start in 2023,” said Jim Gold, CEO and Co-Founder of Steward Partners. “Our leadership team is meeting with potential new partners almost daily. With the launch of our broker dealer and the addition of Pershing custodial services, combined with increased demand for our affiliate option, we are preparing for another record year in recruiting and revenue for the partnership.”
New Office in Mobile, Alabama
“John Ferguson and Charlie Bailey are a great team who have built a successful business by always putting their clients first and looking for new ways to improve their offering,” said Jeffrey Gonyo, Head of Recruiting and Senior Divisional President – Southeast Division, Steward Partners. “We are proud to have them as partners in Alabama and we look forward to helping Clarity Private Wealth Solutions continue to grow and prosper.”
“We are choosing to partner with Steward Partners because we see the value in being able to deliver a comprehensive holistic experience to clients that encompasses all areas of their financial life,” explained John Ferguson, Managing Director at Clarity Private Wealth Solutions. “Through Steward’s partnerships, we feel we’ll be able to better deliver an open architecture experience for clients that’s not limited to the offerings of one particular firm. Our relationship with Steward will allow us to bring a lot more to the table and gives us more flexibility.”
John N. Ferguson began his financial services career in 2004 with UBS before being recruited by Merrill Lynch in 2007 and accepting the position as the firm’s Resident Director in Mobile in 2008. In 2015, he joined Wells Fargo Advisors as a Financial Advisor and First Vice President-Investments within the Wells Fargo Private Bank Office in downtown Mobile, Alabama. John has earned the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) designation from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. He has also earned the Certified Private Wealth Advisor® (CPWA®) and the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor® (CRPC®) credentials. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Rhodes College in 2000 while playing football all four years and is a member of USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital Development Council as well a Board member of Distinguished Young Women.
Charles Bailey III has accumulated almost 40 years of experience since beginning his career as a Financial Advisor with Sterne Agee in 1984, where he developed his fundamental investment knowledge. He then moved to Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. where he was branch manager for almost five years. Charles has a Bachelor of Science in commerce and business administration from the University of Alabama and in 2002, he completed the Branch Management Leadership Institute at the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School of Business and Commerce.
“As John and I started looking around to determine how we could better serve the high-net-worth segment of the market, we did a lot of due diligence,” said Charles Bailey, Director, Clarity Private Wealth Solutions. “We recognized that there was so much more out there that would enhance our offering and better serve our clients. The more people we spoke to and the more firms we looked at, the more obvious it became that Steward Partners was the fit that we were looking for.”
$700 Million in One Month
In total, Steward Partners has welcomed four new teams and added almost $700 million in assets since January 1. In addition to Clarity Private Wealth Solutions, H.L. Wiginton Capital Management, a four-person team with $220 million AUM and based in Jasper, Alabama joined in late January. It is led by Mike Wiginton, CFA, President, a professional with 30 years experience. He is joined by Tom Ferrell, CFP®, Vice President, Luke Ferrell, Investment Adviser Representative, and Kristi Alexander, Office Manager and Sales Assistant.
Also in January, Kurt Killingsworth, joined Steward’s Hendersonville, North Carolina office as a Partner, Director, Wealth Manager. A veteran advisor with more than 18 years experience who has earned the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor® (CRPC®) designation, he spent the last 11 years with Morgan Stanley as Financial Advisor, Vice President and has $170 million in AUM.
The fourth new join is Sean Hingley, a Chartered Market Technician® (CMT®), formerly with Wells Fargo, who joined the firm as Vice President and Wealth Manager on January 5, 2023, with $50 million in AUM. He is based in Norfolk, Virginia where he works with Vice President, Registered Client Administrative Manager Karen Bittenbender.
Steward Partners has been one of the industry’s fastest growing RIA firms since its launch in 2013. In September 2022, the firm was ranked among Barron’s list of Top RIA Firms for the third consecutive year, an annual ranking of independent advisory companies based on value of assets managed, technology spending, staff diversity, succession planning, and other metrics, having been named among the top 25 firms in 2020 and ranked as #20 in 2021. Steward Partners also had 15 of its partners named to the Forbes List of Best-In-State Wealth Advisors and three advisors on Forbes America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-In-State List in 2022, both of which are prepared by SHOOK Research.
About Steward Partners Global Advisory
Securities and investment advisory services offered through Steward Partners Investment Solutions, LLC, registered broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC, and SEC registered investment adviser. Investment Advisory Services may also be offered through Steward Partners Investment Advisory, LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser. Steward Partners Investment Solutions, LLC, Steward Partners Investment Advisory, LLC, and Steward Partners Global Advisory, LLC are affiliates and separately operated.
Barron’s Top 100 RIA Firms. Barron’s is a registered trademark of Dow Jones & Company, L.P. All rights reserved. Participation in this ranking is by invitation only and limited to firms that meet the minimum eligibility requirements: spending, number of clients, size of staff, diversity across staff, and placement of a succession plan. The ranking may not be representative of any one client’s experience, is not an endorsement, and is not indicative of the advisor’s future performance.
About SHOOK Research
SHOOK is completely independent and objective and does not receive compensation from the advisors, firms, the media, or any other source in exchange for placement on a ranking. SHOOK is funded through conferences, publications and research partners. Since every investor has unique needs, investors must carefully choose the right advisor for their own situation and perform their own due diligence. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC and not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience; the firm’s research and rankings provide opinions for how to choose the right financial advisor. Portfolio performance is not a criterion due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. Remember, past performance is not an indication of future results.
For more information and complete details on methodology, go to www.shookresearch.com.
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SOURCE Steward Partners Global Advisory Group