September 15, 2025
By Karmen Alexander
A team of four advisors that managed $1.25 billion broke away from UBS Wealth Management USA to go independent with LPL Financial in Greenville, South Carolina, according to an announcement from the hiring firm.
The Ox Road Capital team, which is led by Jeffrey S. Allen, Steve N. Armaly, Brian A. Blackburn—all UBS lifers—and Michael S. Lee, joined LPL’s Strategic Wealth Services channel on September 10, according to the announcement and registration records.
LPL’s SWS channel, which launched in April 2020, gives teams additional assistance such as marketing and operational resources for a revenue-based fee. Earlier this month, it reeled in a UBS team managing $1.8 billion in assets in California, and, in July, a team managing $425 million joined from RBC Wealth Management.
The Ox Road team, which includes seven support staff, chose SWS as part of their succession plan. They decided they did not want to be employees of a bigger firm or join another firm that would require them to take on a third-party investor.
“All businesses and individuals have three seasons they pass through – Survival, Success and Significance,” Lee said in the announcement. “We reached that final stage where we began to think about legacy and it was clear we needed to make a move to really build something that could outlast the founders.
