June 3, 2019
Mindy Diamond Quoted
By Jason Bisnoff
Luminous Capital, a team of five advisers managing more than $17bn in assets, has left First Republic Bank and is forming two separate independent shops in California.
The team includes founding partners David Hou, who manages $4.4bn, and Mark Sear, who manages $2.9bn, as well as Robert Skinner who manages $4.1bn, Alan Zafranwho manages $3.9bn, and Eric Harrison who manages $1.9bn.
The team was first acquired by the San Francisco-based private wealth manager in 2012 for $125m after Hou and Sear left the Merrill Lynch Private Investment Banking Group for independence in 2008.
The two new firms will be called Evoke Wealth, based in Los Angeles, and IEQ Capital, based in Monterey, California.
The firm’s contract with First Republic expired at the end of 2017, but the team stayed on, a sign that this move was less about the practices of First Republic than a desire for independence, a trend being seen across the wealth management space, according to Diamond Consultants President and CEO Mindy Diamond.
“While it is a loss for First Republic it isn’t an indictment, these guys are natural born entrepreneurs and first went independent when they left Merrill and formed Luminous and are looking to do it again,” Diamond said. “It is further validation of the independent space; their employment agreement was up two years ago so if they were really unhappy they would’ve left earlier.”
Diamond also pointed out that First Republic will likely hold on to banking business that was brought on through Luminous clients.
