Former UBS private wealth head joins Samoset

By Helen Kearney

NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - John Straus, the former head of UBS Wealth Management Americas' high net-worth business, has joined Samoset Capital Group to lead its wealth management division, the company announced on Wednesday.

Samoset, which is based in Darien, Connecticut, plans to join the trend of so-called roll-up companies that buy stakes in independent wealth management firms and provide them with technology and compliance tools.

Straus said the company will differ from its competitors by targeting only advisers who focus on wealthy clients.

'We're only a good fit for a very small group of professionals, exclusively focused on clients ... with at least $10 million in assets,' Straus told Reuters.

In addition to independent firms, Samoset wants to hire adviser teams out of large brokerage firms and help them set up as independent advisers. It also intends to buy stakes in trust companies.

The company will take a 50 percent stake in the wealth management and trust firms, and all of them will operate under the Samoset brand.

Straus headed UBS Private Wealth Management, which targets clients with at least $10 million in investable assets, from 2006 until February this year. He was removed from his post as part of new UBS wealth chief Bob McCann's shakeup of top management. Straus announced he was leaving UBS last month.

Prior to joining UBS, Straus headed the private bank at J.P. Morgan Chase.

Following the financial crisis, Straus said wealthy clients are looking for more transparency about the fees their adviser is earning and the kinds of products they are being sold.

'Being independent avoids inherent conflicts. We're not built to be a distribution channel for an investment bank. No one is asking us to sell an IPO,' said Straus.

Straus has invested in the wealth management venture, along with the other partners in Samoset Capital Group, including Daniel FitzPatrick, the former chief executive of both Citi Trust and Goldman Sachs Trust companies. The division is also seeking outside investors.

Samoset currently has one wealth management firm based in New Hampshire that oversees $120 million in client assets. It intends to expand to eight to 10 offices in key financial centers such as Texas, California and the Northeast, said Straus.

(Reporting by Helen Kearney, editing by Matthew Lewis) Keywords: STRAUS/SAMOSET (helen.kearney@thomsonreuters; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.