# Gainesville team launches independent RIA after $1.1 billion breakaway

URL: https://www.financialadvsr.com/article/gainesville-team-launches-independent-ria-after-1-1-billion-57b526
Published: October 28, 2026
By: Grant Whitmore, Moves Correspondent
Section: Moves
Publisher: Financial ADVSR (https://www.financialadvsr.com)

A Gainesville, Georgia team that had over $1.1 billion at its prior firm has launched as an independent registered investment adviser, according to its press release and Wealth Management, after InvestmentNews flagged a Georgia RIA launch after a $1.1 billion breakaway.

InvestmentNews reported on Wednesday, in an advisor-moves roundup, a Georgia RIA launch after a $1.1 billion breakaway. That report does not name the firm. Stribling~Whalen Financial Group, a Gainesville, Georgia wealth management team, announced in its own press release that it has launched as an independent registered investment adviser after leaving its prior firm. The report was part of a broader roundup of advisor moves that also included deals by Carson Group and Mercer Advisors, which are outside the scope of this article.

According to a press release dated October 27, 2026, distributed by PR Newswire, the firm has launched as an independent RIA registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The release puts the client assets at more than $1.1 billion, spread across more than 350 households, at the former firm, with Brian Whalen, CFP, AIF, among the team members. That figure measures assets under management at the prior firm. It is not a price or a revenue figure. The release also says Whalen has more than 32 years of investment experience.

The team includes founder Warren Stribling along with Jacob Beauchamp, Cindy Casey, Lauren Tuttle, Christa Griffin and Kayleigh Dell, according to the same release. The firm says it serves clients in Georgia and 19 other states. Its custody arrangement is with Fidelity Institutional.

Wealth Management covered the move as a $1.1 billion Georgia team leaving Raymond James for the independent RIA model. Wealth Management reported that the team was previously affiliated with Raymond James Financial Services and works with more than 350 households in about 20 states. Wealth Management also said Whalen now owns and runs the team, and that its clients frequently span three or four family generations.

Background on the firm's history comes from Wealth Management's reporting. Warren Stribling founded the firm in 1975. Wealth Management reported that the firm was affiliated with Wells Fargo from 2008 to 2015 before registering with Raymond James. Whalen told Wealth Management that the goal of going independent is greater flexibility to serve clients.

The move reflects a broader pattern of teams leaving large broker-dealer or wirehouse affiliations for the RIA model. Earlier in September 2026, AdvisorHub covered an exit in which roughly 40 advisors departed Ameriprise and set up an RIA that relies on Dynasty for back-office operations; the team's Barron's-listed assets stood at $8.1 billion, a figure that also counts assets under advisement. The sources reviewed for this article do not report what the Stribling~Whalen team will do next, such as timing of client transitions beyond the launch or any further hires.

Key facts:
- Team managed more than $1.1 billion in client assets across more than 350 households at its prior firm, according to the firm's October 27, 2026 press release
- Brian Whalen, CFP, AIF, has more than 32 years of investment experience, per the firm's release
- Firm serves clients in Georgia and 19 other states, according to the firm
- Custody arrangement is with Fidelity Institutional, per the firm's release
- Warren Stribling founded the firm in 1975, according to Wealth Management

Why it matters: For advisors weighing a move, the custody and platform choice is often as consequential as the registration decision, because it shapes how client accounts are held and serviced after a team leaves its prior affiliation. For firm leaders, a team of this size leaving a large broker-dealer for the RIA model is one more data point on how independence continues to draw established books of business.

Sources:
- InvestmentNews: https://www.investmentnews.com/ria-news/advisor-moves-georgia-ria-launches-after-11b-breakaway-carson-and-mercer-expand/268772
- wealthmanagement.com: https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ria-news/11b-georgia-team-leaves-raymond-james-for-ria-model
- wealthmanagement.com: https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ria-news/wealth-enhancement-pens-3rd-1b-plus-deal-in-2026
- advisorhub.com: https://www.advisorhub.com/8-billion-ameriprise-team-launches-ria-with-dynasty/
- prnewswire.com: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/striblingwhalen-financial-group-swfg-launches-independent-ria-302920488.html
- investmentnews.com: https://www.investmentnews.com/goria/practice-management/breakaway-from-rias-dynasty-ceo-warns-next-wave-of-advisor-exits-will-be-from-consolidators/266823