Skip to content

LPL Adds $1.3 Billion Jersey Family Office, Formerly With UBS

By Mari Nicholson

LPL Adds 13 Billion Jersey Family Office Formerly With UBS

Father and son financial advisers William “Bill” Bruen Jr., and Andrew Bruen have joined LPL Financial’s broker-dealer, aligned with existing firm Paradigm Partners. The Bruens reported serving approximately $1.3 billion in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets and join LPL from UBS.

The Bruen family has a long and distinguished history of providing investment advice and wealth management services in Morristown, N.J., dating back to 1922 with the establishment of family patriarch James Bruen’s practice. His son, William Bruen Sr., joined the business in 1950, retiring in 2020 after 70 years of dedicated service, and now Bill and Andrew continue the family legacy – extending their services to third and fourth generations of clients.

Bill Bruen, who served in the U.S. Navy prior to joining the family business, said the opportunity to work alongside his father and son has been his greatest blessing. Andrew Bruen shares that sentiment, noting that he interned at the family practice throughout high school and college and gained valuable early insight into the industry that accelerated his career.

“For over a century, our practice’s guiding principle has been to provide clients with ‘a plan for today, tomorrow and generations to come,’” Andrew said. “We want to empower individuals and families to build lasting legacies through steadfast wealth management backed by personal relationships.”

Seeking freedom and flexibility in how they evolve the next chapter of the family business, the Bruens chose to move their firm to LPL. They are proud to launch their new independent practice, Bruen Wealth Management.

“Our vision for this firm is a direct reflection of my father’s and grandfather’s goals, as we learned how the business should be operated from them,” Bill said. “As stewards of the practice, we value the autonomy to act in the best interests of our clients, outside of corporate directives. By going independent with LPL, and with an added layer of support from Paradigm, we control the legacy that our family has sustained over the past 103 years, which is diligent care of our practice and clients.”

Andrew Koltunowicz, managing partner at Paradigm Partners, expressed his enthusiasm about the Bruens’ joining LPL.

“We are so pleased to welcome Bill and Andrew to Paradigm Partners. Their longstanding history in their community, commitment to clients, multigenerational wealth management expertise, and focus on delivering personalized advice make them an ideal fit for our firm. We look forward to a long and successful partnership,” said Koltunowicz.

Earlier this month, another former UBS adviser, Christopher Ketchen, CRPS, joined LPL Financial’s employee adviser channel, Linsco by LPL Financial, to launch Katama Wealth Partners. He reported serving approximately $315 million in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. supports more than 28,000 financial advisers and the wealth management practices of 1,200 financial institutions. Headquartered in San Diego, its total advisory and brokerage assets totaled approximately $1.8 trillion as of Dec. 19, 2024.

Click here to visit The DI Wire directory page.