$700M Wirehouse Breakaway Heads to Sanctuary Wealth

A pair of financial advisors with $700 million in client assets has left Merrill Lynch to go independent with Sanctuary Wealth.

Greensboro, NC-based Joseph John “JJ” Marus and Lauren Norris have joined Sanctuary’s partnered independence platform to launch Vincita Investment Partners.

Vincita, which means “winning” and “victory” in Italian, caters to business owners, C-suite executives, and individuals who fit the profile of the “millionaire next door,” according to Marus and Norris.

“From the moment I met JJ and Lauren, I was incredibly impressed, so I am honored that after going through a thorough due diligence process, they will launch their firm on Sanctuary’s Partnered Independence platform, which offers client solutions, revenue levers and growth support that they’ve never had access to before now,” said president of Sanctuary Wealth, Vince Fertitta.

Marus had worked at Merrill Lynch for 10 years. According to BrokerCheck, he began his career at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in 2008. Norris began her work at Merrill Lynch in 2015.

Marus and Norris have achieved success in areas beyond finance. Marus reached the U.S. Olympic trials as a swimmer, while Norris is an all-American lacrosse player and coach, Sanctuary Wealth President Vince Fertitta, a former Merrill executive, noted in the announcement.

Launched in 2018, Indianapolis-based Sanctuary has grown its network by attracting primarily wirehouse breakaways. Today, Sanctuary has partner firms in 27 states with $30 billion in assets on its platform.