Sanctuary Wealth, home to the next generation of elite advisors, welcomes its latest partner firm, Auric Capital Partners. The new firm was formed by the melding of two former Merrill Lynch teams – Mittman & Associates, a Private Wealth Management Group team led by Michael J. Mittman, CEPA, CFA, CPWA® in Denver as well as McKelvy Schellenberg & Associates, a traditional wealth management advisory team led by Luke R. McKelvy, CIMA® and William A. Schellenberg – and has offices in Orange County, California and Denver, CO.
“We’ve been working hard over the past couple of years to enhance our ultra-high net worth solutions for Sanctuary partner firms and their clients,” said Jim Dickson, CEO and Founder of Sanctuary Wealth. “Auric’s decision to launch their new firm with Sanctuary is a testament to the breadth and depth of resources and capabilities that we’ve added on this front.”
“As an independent firm, we will now sit on the same side of the table with our clients and have the ability to provide truly objective advice, as our only goal is adding value to each client’s financial future,” said Michael Mittman, CEPA, CFA, CPWA®, Partner, Managing Director, Advisory, Auric Capital Partners. “With Auric Capital Partners, we have assembled a team that has the scalability and expertise through the wealth management spectrum. Our firm has the ability to serve clients whether they have several hundred thousand dollars or several hundred million.”
Michael Mittman has 24 years of investment management experience, the last 14 with Merrill Private Wealth Management, where he worked with a small number of ultra-high-net-worth families, institutions, and private foundations. He has earned the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Personal Investment Advisor, and Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA®) designations and has a degree in economics from Duke University.
Prior to the launch of Auric Capital Partners, Luke McKelvy, and William A. Schellenberg each spent 25 years with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and held the title of Wealth Management Advisor, Senior Vice President. McKelvy has earned the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) designation and is a graduate of Chapman University, while Schellenberg did his undergraduate work at University of Texas. Together they have worked to strategically align both sides of their clients’ balance sheets in order to better position them for sustainable growth.
“We made the decision to partner with Sanctuary Wealth rather than set up our own RIA because after decades in the wirehouse environment, we had a tremendous experience in serving clients, but did not want to have to take on the responsibility of things like compliance and technology that were outside of our comfort zones,” said Luke McKelvy, CIMA®, Partner, Managing Director, Operations, Auric Capital Partners. “Sanctuary offered us the type of support we were used to getting, but with the freedom to manage our business as we saw fit. We can own the client relationship and their information, and yet we have a strong partner to assist us on the aspects of the business that never touch the client. It’s really the best of both worlds.”
Also joining Auric Capital as Partners are Jeffrey A. Dewees, Managing Director, Investments; Arman Melikian, Managing Director, Investments; and Jay Tamkoc Managing Director, Advisory. Additionally, the 11-person teams includes: Anna T. Walters, Vice President, Operations; Kristen Freeman, Vice President, Client Service; Meghan Ide, Senior Associate, Client Service; John Kincannon, Associate, Client Service; and Francine England, Associate, Client Service.
“Auric Capital Partners serves as a great example of the flexibility that Sanctuary Wealth has to offer advisors seeking independence,” said Vince Fertitta, President, Sanctuary Wealth. “The synergy that the union of these two great teams makes possible is not only a positive development for the advisors, but most importantly, it brings a lot more to their clients. Now that they are independent, they’ll be able to have a truly bespoke relationship with their clients on their terms, without the distractions often found when employed by a large institution.”
“When we met with the team at Sanctuary, we were instantly comfortable with their culture and how they have constructed their business model,” added William Schellenberg, Partner, Managing Director, Advisory, Auric Capital Partners. “It was a refreshing change from what we had experienced in the past and definitely got us excited.”
