$400M Former Merrill Team Jumps to Sanctuary Wealth 

Sanctuary Wealth, a firm that provides financial advisors with an independent platform, added TOVA Wealth, a practice with over $400 million in client assets breaking away from a major wirehouse to go independent.  

Wilmington, NC-based TOVA’s four-person team was formerly part of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Founder and managing partner Katie Medina, who joined Merrill Lynch in 2008, leads the firm. The team also includes advisors Michael Tunney and Eric Starkey, and client associate Amy Kepler. 

“Deciding to move forward with our own firm is a consequential decision and is not something we take lightly,” Medina said. “Sanctuary speaks our language and comes highly recommended by others who have left Merrill to start their own business within the network.” 

Before starting her career at Merril, Medina was a Peace Corps volunteer. 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. 

Sanctuary Wealth offers a hybrid, multi-custodian, shared ADV platform through its Sanctuary brand and a multi-custodian, own ADV model through its tru Independence brand. In May, Sanctuary acquired tru Independence, a Portland, OR-based IRA platform that supports 30 RIA firms managing $12.5 billion in client assets. 

The Sanctuary Wealth network includes more than 120 partner firms in 30 states nationwide, with approximately $42 billion in assets on platform. Kennedy Lewis Investment Management, a New York private credit manager, and Azimut Group, an Italian asset manager, both back the company.