Financial Advisor IQ reported on November 8 that Phil Scott and Jim Atwood, who together managed about $18.6 billion at J.P. Morgan, had launched their own registered investment advisory firm, Latigo Peak Partners, the previous month. The firm's launch announcement put its assets under management at $18.6 billion and reported a team of 48 professionals. According to WealthManagement.com, the announcement came on October 19, 2026.
Coverage of the launch differs on some details. AdvisorHub said the teams broke away on a Friday, while InvestmentNews said the announcement was made on a Monday, and the exact dates remain to be confirmed. Asset Management News reported $18.4 billion in assets rather than $18.6 billion. Barron's first reported the firm's creation, according to a Yahoo Finance republication of that report.
The firm's launch release said the two advisors' combined revenue at J.P. Morgan grew from $34 million to more than $130 million over six years. That figure measures revenue generated at J.P. Morgan, not revenue at the new firm. AdvisorHub reported earlier in its own coverage that Scott joined First Republic in Bellevue in 2020 with an 11-person team generating about $18 million in revenue and $2.7 billion in client assets. It also reported that Atwood joined First Republic in Boston in 2018 with a 15-person team generating $22 million in revenue and $4.5 billion in assets.
Sources close to the team told AdvisorHub that the duo was frustrated by J.P. Morgan's technology and bureaucracy, and that they likely forfeited deferred compensation by leaving. Financial-Planning reported that the team lost discretionary trading authority over about 100 client accounts in September, and that former J.P. Morgan CEO Phil Sieg had reportedly given assurances about portfolio management before he left the firm in September 2025. In its launch coverage, Briefs quoted Atwood as saying that advisors inside large firms are confined to the investment options on those firms' platforms. The partners told Asset Management News that they followed the Broker Protocol when leaving.
Latigo Peak is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with operational hubs in Bellevue, Washington, and Boston, Massachusetts, and a field office in Los Angeles, according to CaproAsia. The firm will operate a multi-custodial structure and has selected Charles Schwab and BNY Pershing for custody and lending. Fintrx reported that the firm offers nine proprietary strategies, with separately managed accounts open to external advisers and family offices. CityBiz reported that the firm is self-funded by its founders and has no outside private equity ownership. Radient, a Form ADV aggregator, lists the firm as 100% owned by ASO Meridian Holdings LLC, and AdvisorHub said Scott and Atwood are its two primary owners through that holding company. The headcount is also reported inconsistently. The launch release cited 48 professionals, Financial-Planning reported 48 staff including 15 advisors, and StocksTracker reported a 41-person team. InvestmentNews reported that Scott said the firm is considering Denver and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as possible office locations over the coming twelve months. It also reported that the firm's name draws in part on Latigo, a ski run at Colorado's Beaver Creek resort, where the two founders met 35 years ago.
Regulatory records available to this report are partial. Radient lists Latigo Peak Partners, LLC with CRD No. 344428 and SEC No. 801-137451, shows it registered with the SEC in 2026, and records a latest Form ADV filed on November 6, 2026. The same aggregator shows assets under management as zero, a discrepancy that has not been resolved and should be checked against the filed Form ADV. A third-party feed based on IAPD data shows one advisor, Andrew S Phillips, moving from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC to the firm, with registration dated October 16, 2026. WealthManagement.com reported that SEC records list 10 registrants affiliated with the firm.
Industry context is relevant to the move. Financial-Planning reported that Cerulli reported in 2024 that RIAs rose from 18% to 27% of industry headcount over the prior decade. Briefs cited Fidelity data showing private equity participated in 88% of RIA deals last year. Latigo Peak's self-funded structure is therefore a departure from the most common ownership path in recent RIA transactions. The next items to watch are the Denver and Jackson Hole office plans and the reconciliation of the firm's regulatory assets and headcount figures.