A 12-person advisory that had been with Northwestern Mutual has joined Mariner Independent, Mariner’s 1099 independent contractor channel that brought in a new leadership team last year.
Alinity Wealth Management, based in Baton Rouge, La., manages about $275 million in client assets for families and small businesses in more than 30 states, according to Mariner.
The team includes the three lead advisors, Matt Kubicek, Ethan Bowling and Joey Wilks, along with three associate advisors and six support staff. Kubicek and Bowling had been with Northwestern Mutual for about nine years, while Wilks had been on board for about seven.
The team decided to move to Mariner Independent to “maintain control over our client relationships and our firm while gaining access to deeper planning, technology and operational resources,” Kubicek said in a statement. “Mariner Independent shares our commitment to doing what’s right for clients while giving us the resources to keep raising the bar for client service.”
Mariner Independent’s support platform has more than 1,000 advisors overseeing about $45 billion in total client assets. Last year, Mariner hired Rob Sandrew from Integrated Partners and Verne Marble from Private Advisor Group to lead the division, in an effort to bring on more breakaway firms, such as the team at Alinity Wealth.
“Mariner Independent was built for firms like Alinity,” Sandrew, national managing director and head of Mariner Independent, said in a statement. “Some advisors want to remain independent for the long term, while others want optionality as their business, clients and succession needs evolve.”
Overland Park, Kan.-based Mariner set up its independent advisor channel in 2020 through a partnership with Dynasty Financial Partners, but ended that relationship in 2021 to run the channel itself. Last year, the RIA began touting the potential for its platform wealth managers to move to its W-2 business, announcing the first such move by a $730 million advisory team.
Alinity Wealth, founded in 2006, sees the move to Mariner Independent after years of being with a national financial firm as helping it lean into its “planning-first philosophy.” It also plans to tap Mariner’s resources, including tax and estate planning, insurance and technology.
Northwestern Mutual did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the move. The Milwaukee-based insurance provider and wealth manager has more than 8,000 advisors across the country and about $700 billion in client assets, as of its April reporting.
Mariner’s Sandrew has been working to expand the independent channel’s capabilities in those areas, as well as valuation services and business-owner advisory services, according to the firm.
Including all divisions, Mariner has assets under advisement and management of $609 billion as of Sept. 30, 2025. The firm is majority-controlled by CEO Marty Bicknell and has minority investments from Neuberger Berman and Leonard Green & Partners.
