Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch Breakaways Form Longleaf Capital Group with $2B in Assets 

Two veteran advisory teams from Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch have combined to launch Longleaf Capital Group, an independent wealth management firm overseeing more than $2 billion in assets under advisement on the Arkadios Capital platform. Based in Dothan, AL., the firm was founded by six managing directors who together bring over 175 years of combined experience spanning wealth management, institutional investing, accounting, banking, and insurance. 

“By joining forces, we’ve combined complementary expertise in wealth management, personal financial planning, tax planning, institutional retirement planning and estate planning strategies under one roof,” said Jonathan D. Lee, managing director of Longleaf Capital Group. “Arkadios provides the infrastructure and resources to let us operate as entrepreneurs while still offering institutional-quality tools and support for our clients.” 

The founding partners include Todd P. Thornell, Sr. and Cory A. Singletary, both previously senior advisors at Merrill Lynch; C. Thomas Lee and George M. Liddon, former SVPs and wealth advisors at Morgan Stanley with earlier careers at Merrill Lynch; Jonathan D. Lee, a former first VP and senior portfolio manager at Merrill Lynch; and Lee E. Forehand, a retirement plan consultant and former corporate retirement director at Morgan Stanley. 

Longleaf Capital Group will provide clients with a full suite of services, including financial and retirement planning, institutional retirement plan consulting, estate and tax strategies, alternative investments, insurance solutions, liquidity event planning, and philanthropic advisory. 

Their new partner, Arkadios Capital, is a hybrid independent broker-dealer with more than 75 offices and over $14 billion in assets under advisement nationwide. The firm specializes in supporting larger and growth-oriented wealth management practices making the transition to independence.