Stratos, a consortium of companies supporting financial advisors across multiple business models and affiliations, has secured a majority stake in BWM Financial, and used this as a platform to launch Stratos Private Wealth. BWN Financial Founder and CEO Jeff Brown will serve as the new division’s President.
Brown and BWM Financial have been known entities to the team at Stratos Wealth Holdings for years. Stratos, which oversees $22.8 billion in brokerage and advisory assets, began working with BWM Financial in 2015, and made its initial investment into the firm in 2020. Stratos recently increased its investment in BWM, becoming majority owner in the San Diego-based financial advisory firm.
“In partnership with Stratos, Jeff has achieved strong growth since joining us in 2015. I am so proud of Jeff’s evolution from advisor to CEO of a leading practice in Southern California,” said Charles Shapiro, Founding Partner and Chief Development Officer at Stratos.
In a statement Shapiro welcomed Brown to the firm’s management team and said, “I have complete confidence he will continue to help us develop innovative services for our advisor partners to enhance their own client offerings.”
Stratos Private Wealth will operate as a division of Stratos Wealth Partners with a mandate of identifying opportunities for growth within Stratos and outside of the network, focusing on the ultra-high-net-worth market.
Brown said, “I love working with Stratos’ executive team and our firms are well-aligned in culture, so it made sense to create a new entity that provides an enhanced client experience that delivers comprehensive wealth management services that address legal and tax issues as well as financial planning needs.”
