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Stratos-Affiliated RIA Reorganizes to 100% Employee-Owned Model

By Mari Nicholson

Stratos Affiliated RIA Reorganizes to 100 Employee Owned Model

Independent wealth manager Pettinelli Financial Partners has completed a multiyear strategic realignment, with the goal of elevating the service experience for clients and transforming the firm into a 100% employee-owned enterprise that aligns employee and client interests.

Also as part of the reorganization, founder Dennis Pettinelli has transitioned from leading daily operations to being an ambassador for Pettinelli Financial and focusing on his role as a trusted mentor to the firm and an ongoing advocate for its clients. Under the leadership of his son, Jon Pettinelli, who has served as president since January 2019, the firm has built a strong senior leadership team. This includes partners are Janice Fong, Allison Steele, Rick Rodriguez, and Cooper Grady.

As of Dec. 31, 2024, Pettinelli Financial advisers collectively managed $750 million in assets for more than 500 advisory clients. The hybrid registered investment adviser is affiliated with Stratos.

With the transition to employee ownership, according to the firm, the senior partners have become owners as well as members of the leadership team.

  • Fong joined the firm in 2007 and oversees the service department as client relationship manager. Starting her journey with the firm as a client herself, Fong puts herself “in the client’s shoes” to create lasting client connections.
  • Steele, office manager, has enhanced the firm’s business operations and human resources. Since joining in 2016, Steele has improved the firm’s operational efficiency. As part of the leadership team, Steele provides support in managing the firm’s annual business planning and leading performance-related initiatives.
  • Rodriguez, a financial adviser, is committed to team-based financial planning. With over a decade of advisory experience, Rodriguez serves high-net-worth clients with a focus on long-term financial well-being.
  • Grady, director of financial planning, leads the firm’s centralized financial planning team, overseeing the quality of planning processes and adviser support. He has helped move Pettinelli Financial to its integrated team-based model.

“We’ve always taken great pride in delivering the service experience our clients expect and deserve, and the completion of our strategic repositioning as a 100% employee-owned firm furthers our ability to do just that,” said Jon Pettinelli, chief executive officer of Pettinelli Financial. “With four new committed owners, we are better positioned than at any other time in our firm’s history to accelerate our growth and success by further elevating the quality and sophistication of the service experience we deliver to seek multigenerational wealth for our clients.”

Pettinelli continued, “Central to our reorganization is creating a truly integrated team-model approach. We can now mobilize the full spectrum of expertise and skills across our entire firm to provide a comprehensive, planning-based experience for each client.”

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