# Trilogy adds $225 million Morgan Stanley adviser Whitman to San Diego office

URL: https://www.financialadvsr.com/article/trilogy-adds-225-million-morgan-stanley-adviser-whitman-to-san-diego-e23a6d
Published: November 10, 2026
By: Grant Whitmore, Moves Correspondent
Section: Moves
Publisher: Financial ADVSR (https://www.financialadvsr.com)

Trilogy Capital has hired Stephen P. Whitman, a Morgan Stanley adviser with about $225 million in client assets, as a senior vice president in its San Diego office.

Wealth Solutions Report reported on November 10 that Trilogy Capital has recruited Stephen P. Whitman, a Morgan Stanley wealth adviser, to its San Diego office. Trilogy issued its own announcement a day earlier, on November 9, saying Whitman joined the firm as senior vice president of wealth management. AdvisorHub also covered the move, describing it as a recruit that follows Trilogy's recent acquisition of Mountain Capital Investment Advisors.

Per Trilogy's own announcement, the San Diego office will house Whitman, whose client assets total roughly $225 million. The figure is a client asset total, not a price paid or a revenue measure. Wealth Solutions Report says the same book was managed at Morgan Stanley before the move. The sources do not disclose the terms of Whitman's arrangement with Trilogy or how quickly his clients will transfer.

Trilogy's release says Whitman has more than 40 years of experience as a wealth advisor. A Morgan Stanley adviser profile for Whitman says he has served clients for over 38 years, a difference the sources do not reconcile. That profile lists him as a senior vice president and financial advisor based in Carlsbad, California, while Trilogy places him in San Diego. Trilogy's release says Whitman will work with Windus Fernandez Brinkkord, a Trilogy senior vice president who has been with the firm since 2003, and with Gary Sussman, a vice president of wealth management. Jason Inglis, Trilogy's chief development officer, is named in the release as praising Whitman.

Trilogy describes itself as advisor-founded, advisor-owned and advisor-led, with operations in California, Colorado, Arizona and Massachusetts. According to the firm's release, Trilogy was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Irvine, California. Jeff Motske is listed as co-founder, president and chief executive. Trilogy has said it set up its SEC-registered adviser, Trilogy Capital, in 2016, while the adviser's regulatory record shows a registration date in November 2015.

On scale, Wealth Solutions Report says Trilogy reports more than $6 billion in advisory and brokerage assets across 11 regional offices. Earlier Trilogy releases cited more than $5 billion across 10 offices, and the firm's totals are not reported consistently across outlets. Privatefunddata, drawing on the March 2025 Form ADV filing, shows regulatory assets under management of about $3.21 billion for Trilogy Capital, Inc., with 74 employees and 18,988 accounts. Those regulatory figures measure a different base than the firm-reported totals.

The Whitman hire follows Trilogy's October 8 announcement that it had acquired Mountain Capital Investment Advisors, a Westminster, Colorado firm with more than $1 billion in total client assets. Trilogy called that deal the largest of 2026 and said it was the firm's 11th office and its second in Colorado. Financial terms were not disclosed. Mountain Capital was founded in 2011 and focuses on aviation professionals, according to Trilogy's press materials. One source counts 12 locations after the deal, while most others count 11.

BriefGlance, an aggregator, places the Whitman move within a broader shift of veteran advisors from wirehouses to independent RIAs. That is commentary rather than reporting on this specific hire, and the sources do not say whether other advisors are expected to follow Whitman to Trilogy.

Whitman's move adds a senior adviser with a reported $225 million book to a San Diego team that Trilogy says will include an existing senior vice president and a vice president of wealth management. The sources do not provide Trilogy's wider recruiting plans beyond this hire, so any further team growth in San Diego remains unconfirmed.

Key facts:
- Whitman joined Trilogy as senior vice president of wealth management, based in the San Diego office, according to Trilogy's release dated November 9, 2026.
- Trilogy's release puts Whitman's client assets at about $225 million; Wealth Solutions Report says he previously managed that book at Morgan Stanley.
- Wealth Solutions Report says Trilogy reports more than $6 billion in advisory and brokerage assets across 11 regional offices.
- Privatefunddata shows about $3.21 billion in regulatory AUM for Trilogy Capital, Inc., from the March 2025 Form ADV filing.
- Trilogy announced the acquisition of Mountain Capital Investment Advisors on October 8, 2026, citing more than $1 billion in client assets; terms were not disclosed.

Why it matters: For advisors and team leaders, a senior adviser with a reported $225 million book is a significant recruit for a regional office, and it signals where experienced wealth professionals are choosing to land. Recruiters will note that the figures cited here are client asset totals, which can differ from regulatory AUM, so comparisons across firms need care. Firm leaders can read the move as one more data point in Trilogy's expansion following its Mountain Capital deal.

Firms in this story, from their SEC Form ADV filings:
- Trilogy Capital (Irvine, CA; SEC CRD 281597): $3.2B regulatory assets under management, 8,388 clients, 74 advisory staff, 12 offices, custodians Charles Schwab, LPL Financial; Form ADV filed 2026-07-23. https://www.financialadvsr.com/rias/trilogy-capital-inc
- Mountain Capital Investment Advisors (Westminster, CO; SEC CRD 156660): $929M regulatory assets under management, 1,191 clients, 15 advisory staff, 5 offices, custodians Charles Schwab, Fidelity; Form ADV filed 2026-07-21. https://www.financialadvsr.com/rias/mountain-capital-investment-advisors-inc

Sources:
- Wealth Solutions Report: https://www.wealthsolutionsreport.com/trilogy-recruits-225-million-morgan-stanley-advisor-for-san-diego-office/
- AdvisorHub: https://www.advisorhub.com/resources/trilogy-capital-follows-1-billion-mountain-capital-acquisition-with-225-million-recruit-from-morgan-stanley-wealth-advisors/
- prnewswire.com: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/trilogy-welcomes-morgan-stanley-wealth-advisor-stephen-p-whitman-to-san-diego-team-302932587.html
- morningstar.com: https://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-newswire/20261008sf66230/trilogy-capital-accelerates-growth-with-acquisition-of-1-billion-mountain-capital-investment-advisors
- citybiz.co: https://www.citybiz.co/article/916336/trilogy-capital-acquires-1-billion-mountain-capital-investment-advisors-expanding-colorado-presence/
- trilogyfs.com: https://www.trilogyfs.com/press/trilogy-capital-buys-1b-ria/
- advisorhub.com: https://www.advisorhub.com/resources/trilogy-capital-adds-1-billion-in-assets-with-mountain-capital-investment-advisors-acquisition/