A local financial firm has rebranded, but not quite by choice. And it recently struck a deal to sell its Texas office.
Neil Gilliss abruptly broke away from Johnson & Gilliss Wealth Management last month to strike out on his own. Michael Johnson, the other half of the downtown financial firm, had to change the company name – for obvious reasons.
Thus was born First Financial Advisors.
“Let me assure you that we are still in business and in the same location,” Johnson said. “We’ve just had a lot of issues to change in the last month.”
Johnson said the parting of ways between wasn’t quite as amicable as Gilliss portrayed.
Johnson said he found out about Gilliss’s new venture, Canal Capital Management, when he came back to the office late one night and ran into his business partner packing up his belongings.
“It caught me off guard,” Johnson said.
Gilliss, 34, told BizSense last month that he had always wanted to be in business for himself and that he didn’t think Johnson was surprised by the move.
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Johnson, 59, said he treated Gilliss like a son and had given him an increasing share of the firm’s revenue over time to try to retain his young partner.
“I don’t fault him for going out on his own, but I wish we could have sat down and talked about it,” Johnson said.
“He’s got to do what he’s got to do for his life. And I wish him well.”
In the midst of having to rebrand his firm, Johnson also made a move to sell the firm’s practice in Dallas.
Johnson, who has previously worked for local financial firms such as Virginia Asset Management and the former 1717 Capital Management, last week sold his company’s Dallas book of business to his partners in Texas.
Johnson wouldn’t disclose the price tag on the deal but did say that he will be paid over a period of 12 years. The firm had been in Dallas for about two years and was managing about $115 million in assets there.
Now the eight-person firm will concentrate solely on Richmond and its 500 clients. Johnson would not say how many assets the firm manages here, only that the figure is larger than that of his former Dallas practice.
Johnson said the firm’s new name was inspired by the company’s location on South First Street.
“We thought about all these esoteric names,” Johnson said. “But since we’re on First Street, I said that’s pretty simple and pretty easy to remember.”
With Gilliss out, Johnson said he will make David Leuschen partner in First Financial. Leuschen has been with the firm for two years, having previously worked at several financial firms, including Anderson Strudwick and Scott & Stringfellow.
Although he has been in the business for more than three decades, Johnson said he learned a lesson or two from the recent episode with Gilliss.
“I’ve learned you can make yourself vulnerable when you are trying to be nice,” Johnson said.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter and covers the financial services industries. Please send news tips to [email protected].
A local financial firm has rebranded, but not quite by choice. And it recently struck a deal to sell its Texas office.
Neil Gilliss abruptly broke away from Johnson & Gilliss Wealth Management last month to strike out on his own. Michael Johnson, the other half of the downtown financial firm, had to change the company name – for obvious reasons.
Thus was born First Financial Advisors.
“Let me assure you that we are still in business and in the same location,” Johnson said. “We’ve just had a lot of issues to change in the last month.”
Johnson said the parting of ways between wasn’t quite as amicable as Gilliss portrayed.
Johnson said he found out about Gilliss’s new venture, Canal Capital Management, when he came back to the office late one night and ran into his business partner packing up his belongings.
“It caught me off guard,” Johnson said.
Gilliss, 34, told BizSense last month that he had always wanted to be in business for himself and that he didn’t think Johnson was surprised by the move.
View Larger Map
Johnson, 59, said he treated Gilliss like a son and had given him an increasing share of the firm’s revenue over time to try to retain his young partner.
“I don’t fault him for going out on his own, but I wish we could have sat down and talked about it,” Johnson said.
“He’s got to do what he’s got to do for his life. And I wish him well.”
In the midst of having to rebrand his firm, Johnson also made a move to sell the firm’s practice in Dallas.
Johnson, who has previously worked for local financial firms such as Virginia Asset Management and the former 1717 Capital Management, last week sold his company’s Dallas book of business to his partners in Texas.
Johnson wouldn’t disclose the price tag on the deal but did say that he will be paid over a period of 12 years. The firm had been in Dallas for about two years and was managing about $115 million in assets there.
Now the eight-person firm will concentrate solely on Richmond and its 500 clients. Johnson would not say how many assets the firm manages here, only that the figure is larger than that of his former Dallas practice.
Johnson said the firm’s new name was inspired by the company’s location on South First Street.
“We thought about all these esoteric names,” Johnson said. “But since we’re on First Street, I said that’s pretty simple and pretty easy to remember.”
With Gilliss out, Johnson said he will make David Leuschen partner in First Financial. Leuschen has been with the firm for two years, having previously worked at several financial firms, including Anderson Strudwick and Scott & Stringfellow.
Although he has been in the business for more than three decades, Johnson said he learned a lesson or two from the recent episode with Gilliss.
“I’ve learned you can make yourself vulnerable when you are trying to be nice,” Johnson said.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter and covers the financial services industries. Please send news tips to [email protected].