Mark Elliot, Scott Friedman, Darren Dawson & John Kent Bring $1B Truist Book to Wells Fargo FiNet's Florida Debut

FiNet's tuck-in model is pulling billion-dollar regional bank teams away from Truist and into the independent channel — if you're weighing a move, the infrastructure is clearly there.

Mark Elliot, Scott Friedman, Darren Dawson, and John Kent just walked a $1 billion book out of Truist and into Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network — and in doing so, handed the FiNet-affiliated practice Merritt Point Wealth Advisors its first Florida footprint.

The four partners, all now operating as executive managing directors under the banner Clearwater Private Wealth Advisors, are setting up shop in Palm Beach. The move represents one of the largest Truist departures of the year and signals that regional bank advisors managing serious wealth are increasingly skeptical of the captive model.

Why Palm Beach, Why Now

Palm Beach isn't a random pin drop. It's one of the highest-concentration ultra-high-net-worth markets in the country, and a team with $1 billion in assets under management arriving there via an independent platform — rather than a wirehouse branch — says something deliberate about how Elliot, Friedman, Dawson, and Kent want to grow.

The FiNet supported-independent structure gives them the Wells Fargo brand and back-office infrastructure without the employee advisor restrictions. For a team of this caliber serving private wealth clients, that separation matters. Clients in that zip code expect a boutique feel, not a bank branch.

Merritt Point's Tuck-In Strategy Is Working

Merritt Point Wealth Advisors has quietly become one of the more aggressive aggregators operating inside the FiNet ecosystem. This isn't the practice's first large tuck-in — in January, Paolo Thompson joined Merritt Point from Raymond James in Houston, bringing more than $400 million in assets and partnering with Jared Mitchell.

The Clearwater team represents a significant step up in scale. Adding $1 billion in Palm Beach gives Merritt Point a bicoastal footprint and a credible presence in one of the most competitive private wealth markets in the Southeast. The practice is clearly running a deliberate geographic expansion playbook.

FiNet's Broader Recruiting Surge

Zoom out and the FiNet recruiting picture looks even more compelling for advisors watching from the sidelines. Just this year:

- Clearwater Private Wealth Advisors (Mark Elliot, Scott Friedman, Darren Dawson, John Kent) — $1B from Truist, Palm Beach, FL

- Merritt Point Houston team (Paolo Thompson, Jared Mitchell) — $400M+ from Raymond James, Houston, TX

- Houser, Plessl & Staples Wealth Management Group (Kevin Houser, Gary Plessl, Matthew Staples) — $530M+ from Ameriprise, Allentown, PA

- Laurel Financial Group (Wesley Nicholson, Michael Allen, Guy Filewich) — $170M+ from Commonwealth, Pittsburgh, PA

That's north of $2.1 billion in recruited assets across four moves in a matter of months. FiNet isn't just winning the independence conversation — it's closing it.

What the Truist Departure Signals

Truist has faced ongoing advisor attrition since the BB&T and SunTrust merger created cultural and operational friction. Teams that built their practices inside legacy regional bank environments have found the post-merger identity harder to sell to clients — particularly at the high end.

A $1 billion team exiting to an independent platform is a data point, but it's also a signal. Advisors still at Truist — and at other regional banks navigating merger hangovers — are watching moves like this closely. The infrastructure excuse for staying captive is getting thinner every quarter.

The Competitive Read for Wirehouse Advisors

For advisors at the wirehouses, the Clearwater move is a reminder that FiNet is no longer just a landing spot for mid-market teams looking to escape compliance pressure. It is actively competing for billion-dollar relationships in marquee markets.

Wells Fargo's dual-channel strategy — maintaining the employee wirehouse alongside FiNet's independent model — gives it a recruiting surface area that most competitors can't match. A team that wants independence but isn't ready to go full RIA has a credible, well-resourced option here. And Palm Beach just proved it.