Oneida Wealth Management becomes independent broker dealer

CLAY — Oneida Wealth Management, Inc. is in the home stretch of a nearly two-year process to reorganize the business and become its own registered broker/dealer and investment advisory firm.

That means that by the end of this year, the company, which is now registered as a broker/dealer, will no longer use the services of third-party broker/dealer Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc.

Oneida Wealth Management, based in the town of Clay, has essentially operated as a branch office of Syracuse–based Cadaret, Grant, says Eric Stickels, president and COO of Oneida Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ONFC) and its Oneida Savings Bank unit. But going forward, Oneida Wealth Management will now act as its own independent broker/dealer and subsidiary of Oneida Financial.

That’s important, Stickels says, because it means Oneida Wealth Management can serve its clients through all stages of the wealth-management process. “We really like to have a lot of direct control and involvement in the system and processes that directly affect our clients,” he says. “We like to know if there is a failure point that we can correct it.”

Stickels has nothing but positive reviews for Cadaret, Grant but notes that using any third party puts another link in the chain that separates Oneida Wealth Management from its clients. The other disadvantage to using a third party is that it adds costs to the process, he notes. Becoming its own broker/dealer allows Oneida Wealth Management to provide the best possible service to its clients in the most cost-efficient manner, Stickels says.

Growth path
With $750 million in assets under management and another $150 million overseen by the company’s trust department, Oneida Wealth Management has achieved the critical mass necessary to become its own broker/dealer, he says. Going forward, Stickels expects those asset numbers to grow.

“We don’t have an upper limit,” he says of that growth. “We think it will easily double over the next three years.” He expects the company’s 401(k) business will gather assets the most rapidly. Oneida Wealth Management offers 401(k) services to mid-sized to large corporations throughout the company’s footprint, which encompasses all of New York state. The company is also licensed in Florida. Stickels expects that employment will grow as well as the company adds new clients. Oneida Wealth Management currently employs 40 people between its broker/dealer, pension, financial planning, and trust divisions.

To help foster that growth, Stickels says his firm is looking for licensed brokers throughout the state to add to its roster.

Currently, Oneida Wealth Management is in the process of notifying clients that it is now a broker/dealer and transitioning clients from their Cadaret, Grant accounts to new Oneida Wealth Management accounts.

Reaction from clients so far has been very positive, Stickels says. “This business is very relationship-driven,” he adds.

Oneida Financial combined its trust and investment departments to form Oneida Wealth Management on April 1, 2013, with Donald Abernethy as president. Oneida Wealth Management is headquartered at 5232 Witz Drive in the town of Clay.

Headquartered in Oneida, Oneida Financial (www.oneidafinancial.com) has assets of $785.1 million. The company’s other subsidiaries include the Oneida Savings Bank, State Bank of Chittenango, and Bailey & Haskell Associates, Inc.

Oneida Savings Bank operates 11 branches in Madison and Oneida counties.

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