Sovereign Wealth Advisors, an independent registered investment advisor in Bellevue, Washington, managing $350 million in assets, has merged with Hightower Bellevue, a unit of Chicago-based Hightower. The two firms will operate under the Hightower Bellevue name and manage $1 billion.

Founded more than three decades ago and led by wealth advisors Scott Sheffield, Tara Johnson and Sharon Lailey, Sovereign Wealth specializes in financial and retirement income planning, investment and tax management, and estate planning

Lars Knudsen, managing director and partner at Hightower Bellevue, said the firms are aligned culturally.

“We are fortunate to already know and appreciate the Sovereign Wealth team and the value they bring to their clients,” Knudsen said. “Tara, Sharon, and Scott are leading an excellent firm, with consistent double-digit growth, and we are looking forward to welcoming them and adding considerable bench-strength to our operations.”

Hightower Bellevue, which previously operated as Triad Wealth Stewardship, joined the Hightower network in 2014 and managed about $400 million at that time.

The Hightower network had $108.4 billion in assets under management and approximately $132.6 billion in assets under administration as of the end of June.