Merritt Point Adds $1 Billion Truist Team, Expanding to 7 Offices

Q: Why did a billion-dollar team leave Truist just before a new CEO takes over?

There is no evidence that the team left because of Truist’s incoming CEO. What is documented is that the seven-person Palm Beach team, managing more than $1 billion, said it moved to Merritt Point Wealth Advisors because it preferred that firm’s model: its strategic vision, collaborative culture, operational support, and long-term investment in advisors. The timing naturally raises questions because Truist has named Michael Lyons to become CEO on Sept. 1, 2026. But the available reporting does not show a direct link between the leadership change and this departure. The team had been at Truist for about a decade and chose an independent platform affiliated with Wells Fargo’s FiNet, which is actively recruiting large teams and expanding its appeal to advisors seeking more autonomy. That broader industry context matters. Wells Fargo has been winning sizable advisor teams this year, and it is also building a fee-only RIA channel aimed at advisors who want independence, flexible technology, and access to a large firm’s services. That makes FiNet and related independent models especially attractive to veteran wealth teams. So the best-supported answer is that the team appears to have left for a more entrepreneurial, advisor-centric platform rather than in reaction to Truist’s CEO transition. The CEO change may have added uncertainty at Truist, but there is no public evidence tying it to this move.

1 articles · Updated · Wealth Management · Jul 8

Seven Truist Wealth Management staff in Palm Beach, including four partners, joined Merritt Point Wealth Advisors with more than $1 billion in client assets.
The move deepens Merritt Point’s South Florida footprint and lifts the Wells Fargo FiNet-affiliated firm to seven locations across Connecticut, New York, Texas and Florida.
The team had spent about a decade at Truist and said Merritt Point’s strategy, culture, operations and long-term investment in advisors drove the switch.
Wells Fargo has kept adding advisors to FiNet and its employee channel this year, including a recently recruited $1.7 billion RBC Capital Markets team.
Wells is also preparing a fee-only RIA channel for launch at year-end as it courts breakaway advisors, with the RIA sector posting the strongest net advisor gains in 2025.