Causeway Securities replaced its CEO and added a Chief Operating Officer, 27 advisory firms completed SEC registration — the highest single-day graduation count of the month — and three RIA disclosure events were recorded across 39 total events on a day dominated by the advisory channel.

Causeway Securities CEO Transition

Causeway Securities LLC (CRD 315829) in New York replaced CEO Donald Thomas Brudie Jr. (CRD 2443236) with Conor Hugh O'Donnell (CRD 7503902) and simultaneously hired Allan Whittfield Waddell (CRD 6269115) as Chief Operating Officer. The dual leadership appointment — replacing one executive with two — signals an operational expansion at the firm that warrants the addition of a dedicated COO role alongside the new CEO.

CEO replacements at broker-dealers are among the most significant leadership events in the industry, as they affect the firm's strategic direction, regulatory posture, and client relationships. The addition of a COO alongside the CEO transition suggests Causeway is building management infrastructure to support growth or organizational complexity that a single executive could not oversee.

HCC Securities Corrects Direct Ownership Spelling

HCC Securities Group, Inc. (CRD 16861) in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, recorded a change in its direct ownership filing — replacing "Cathy Holding Group Co., Ltd." with "Cathay Holding Group Co., Ltd." as the firm's direct owner. While the change appears to be a spelling correction from "Cathy" to "Cathay," ownership filing amendments at broker-dealers are tracked as material events because they affect the firm's Form BD and may reflect changes in the legal entity structure of the parent company.

Cathay Holding Group is the parent of a financial services network with operations across Asia and the United States. Accurate ownership filings are critical for FINRA's regulatory oversight of control relationships at member firms.

27 RIA Graduations Shatter March Record

Twenty-seven advisory firms completed their SEC registration — obliterating the previous single-day record of 23 set just one day earlier on March 22. No firms failed the 120-day process, making it the cleanest graduation day of the month. The new registrants span the country, from Vertrix Wealth Management in Troy, Michigan, to Pointone Family Office in Manhattan Beach, California, to Harvest - Faith-Based Investing in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Among the notable graduates, Musaffa LLC (CRD 338525) in New York stands out as a Shariah-compliant investment advisory firm — reflecting the growing diversity of advisory firm models completing SEC registration. The month's cumulative RIA graduations now exceed 300 firms, an extraordinary pace that underscores the continued acceleration of independent advisory firm formation.

The geographic distribution of the day's graduations tells its own story: New York led with six registrations, followed by Florida and Virginia with three each, and firms from Massachusetts, Georgia, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, California, and Texas filling out the national footprint. The advisory industry's growth is not concentrated in any single market — it is a nationwide phenomenon.

Three RIA Disclosures

Three disclosure events were recorded across the advisory vertical. A customer complaint was added at Bison Wealth LLC (CRD 5824081) in Atlanta involving advisor Elio Chiarelli. Two disclosure removals were also processed: a bankruptcy record was removed from Hannah Chapman at Juncture Wealth Strategies in Scottsdale, and a bankruptcy record was removed from Michael Wallace at Lincoln Investment in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. Disclosure removals typically reflect the expiration of aging events under SEC and FINRA reporting windows.

Cape Securities Withdraws From Virginia

Cape Securities Inc. (CRD 7072) in McDonough, Georgia, withdrew its registration from Virginia — the sole registration change of the day. State registration withdrawals at broker-dealers can reflect changes in business strategy, client distribution, or operational footprint.

Across the Wire

The CAT (Consolidated Audit Trail) issued one announcement. The day was notably light on broker-dealer activity, with only six BD-related events compared to 33 RIA-related events. The 85-15 ratio of RIA-to-BD events represents the most advisory-dominant day of the entire month, reinforcing the structural shift in industry activity toward the registered investment adviser channel.

All data sourced from FINRA BrokerCheck, SEC EDGAR, and the Finleet Terminal as of March 23, 2026. Entity profiles are available at terminal.finleet.com.