Sanctuary Wealth (Sanctuary), providing elite financial advisors the freedom, flexibility, control and choice to thrive in an evolving industry, welcomes TOVA Wealth (TOVA), a Wilmington, North Carolina, practice with over $400 million in client assets. The firm is led by its Founder and Managing Partner, Katie Medina, CFP, CRPC. Also on the team are advisors Michael Tunney and Eric Starkey, CFP, CRPC, and client associate Amy Kepler.
“After spending their entire careers at a wirehouse, Katie and her team wanted the autonomy to run their business and serve clients as they felt best,” said Vince Fertitta, President, Wealth Management, Sanctuary Wealth. “They believed that remaining employees of a large bank was no longer the best environment, which is why they sought a platform that provides everything they used at their prior firm and much more. After thorough reflection and due diligence, they chose Sanctuary Wealth’s hybrid, multi-custodial and shared ADV model, where they are not only empowered to enhance the value of service they deliver to clients but also are joining a culture of like-minded former wirehouse advisors who have also decided to unlock the asset they have worked so hard to build.”
As an independent firm, TOVA is not beholden to any financial institution. It offers flexibility to its clients and is committed to making personalized financial planning accessible to everyone. The team’s allegiance lies solely with its clients, not shareholders or managers. They are singularly focused on the financial well-being of those they serve and on empowering their success.
“After enjoying years of hard work building our practice at our former firm, I hardly recognize the institution it has become, and we needed to make a change for our team and clients,” Katie said. “Deciding to move forward with our own firm is a consequential decision and is not something we take lightly. Sanctuary speaks our language and comes highly recommended by others who have left Merrill to start their own business within the network. We only want to make this type of transition once, so we had to find the right partner to ensure success.”
Before starting her career at Merril Lynch in 2008, Katie was a Peace Corps volunteer. Her passion for helping and educating others led her to the wealth management field, where she looks to simplify the financial planning process and make it easy for her clients to understand. Since 2019, Katie has volunteered with the CFP® Board and is currently on its Council on Examinations, where she serves as a primary subject matter expert. In this capacity, she helps provide recommendations on the certification exam and process.
“Sanctuary’s experience, tools, resources and support made this complicated decision to start fresh easy,” Katie added. “The network is multi-custodial, which was essential to us, and they have the experience of supporting the transition of practices like ours to independence without missing a beat. Our multi-generational business has a long runway, and we are extremely pleased Sanctuary will be with us for our entire journey.”
Adam Malamed, CEO of Sanctuary Wealth, said, “We are excited to welcome Katie and the TOVA Wealth team to our platform. Over the past several years, we have been diligently building the infrastructure and services that provide groups like theirs with the freedom, flexibility, control and choice to build on their previous success and thrive in the evolving wealth management landscape. We are honored that they have chosen Sanctuary as their partner.”
