The former chief executive and other ex-employees of Brite Advisors’ troubled US operation have launched a new venture.

Their new firm comes as regulators close in on the international network of advice businesses known as Brite, of which the US-based RIA was a part. 

Like its other affiliates in a handful of countries worldwide, Brite USA provided pension advice to UK expatriates. The then-$468m New York RIA faced a November of 2023 lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for violations of the custody rule. Per the SEC, the RIA custodied client assets with an affiliate based in Australia, which the regulator accused of borrowing millions of dollars against those assets to fund related companies, activity that Brite USA allegedly did not disclose to clients. 

A federal court issued a certificate for a default judgment in late April, weeks after Brite USA chief executive Martin Byrne told clients that the company could not access the advisory fees needed to afford legal representation. As of February, the custody affiliate in Australia, Brite Advisors Pty Ltd, has been placed into receivership and is being liquidated at the behest of the Australian government. 

Meanwhile, former employees of Brite USA have begun working for a new firm, Rosefinch Investment Advisors. Per its website, the firm provides advice through an RIA called Beacon Global Advisor Network. 

The team of advisors listed on the Rosefinch site consists of Matthew Doherty, Zachary Zanghi, Damien Hanly, Adrian Flambard, Matthew Hunkele and Andrew Anello. All six advisors were formerly registered with Brite USA and switched their registrations to Beacon in the last two weeks of April, according to the SEC’s BrokerCheck database. 

Founded in 2017 and owned by Joby Gruber and Randy Landsman, Beacon’s network consists of contracted affiliates that offer a range of financial services, including pension advice and asset management for UK expatriates, the company told the SEC in an April filing. 

On his LinkedIn page, Gruber said he is ‘uniquely positioned to connect advisors around the world with the ability to service expats living abroad or internationals returning to their home country.’ 

Gruber is the former chief executive of FSC Securities and Advantage Capital, which were part of brokerage firm AIG Advisor Group. Gruber was forced to resign in 2008 after he was accused of allowing a subordinate to take continuing education exams in Gruber’s name. AIG Advisor Group is now known as Osaic and is owned by private equity firm Reverence Capital Partners.

A Rosefinch Investment Advisors is registered as a business entity with the US state of Delaware and with the UK Companies House.

Data accessed from the UK Companies House shows that Flambard, along with Gareth Jones and Michael Potts, are directors of Rosefinch. Of the company’s 20 shares, Flambard has two, while Jones and Potts each have nine shares, per the UK government’s data. All three men are listed as British nationals, in an April certificate of incorporation from the Companies House. 

Jones was formerly listed as a technical advisor at Brite USA, according to archived website information obtained via the Wayback Machine. 

Although he has since been replaced, in March of 2020, Potts was appointed CEO of Brite’s US operations by Mark Donnelly, the founder and group CEO of the Brite network, media outlet International Adviser reported at the time. 

Through two holding companies, Brite Advisory Holdings Limited and Aurom Group Limited, Australian receiver McGrathNicol reported in December of 2023 that Donnelly controls the international Brite network, which at the time operated in 12 countries worldwide. 

A January report from McGrathNichol lists several suspected contraventions by Brite and its directors, including failure to maintain controls for client assets and engagement in dishonest and deceptive conduct. Donnelly, as a ‘de facto or shadow director’ was listed among the parties suspected to be involved in the contraventions. 

Citywire reported last week that Donnelly has taken control of a Dubai-based pension advice firm called Mondial. 

About a month ago, Brite USA told clients that it was focused on supporting them on withdrawal requests and keeping them updated on events in Australia. Byrne told an SEC attorney in a February letter that clients had suffered ‘significant harms’ including failure to pay mortgages and meet monthly expenses, as a result of the legal action in Australia. 

Emails to Rosefinch and Beacon have not been returned. Potts did not return a request for comment.