SFA Partners—a family of companies focused on supporting the growth and success of independent financial advisors—announced the appointment of David Pittman to the newly created role of Executive Vice President of Strategic Blueprint, an independent registered investment adviser firm. In addition to Strategic Blueprint, SFA Partners encompasses The Strategic Financial Alliance, a leading independent broker-dealer and corporate RIA, as well as SFA Insurance Services.

Formally launched in April this year, Strategic Blueprint delivers a seamlessly consolidated platform for custody, clearing, product due diligence, technology, compliance and wealth management for independent financial advisors across the country.

In his new role, Mr. Pittman will report directly to Strategic Blueprint's president, Julie Sullivan, and focus on building out the firm's capabilities and offerings, while attracting growth-oriented financial advisors to its platform. Strategic Blueprint's offering is geared specifically to meet the surging demand among advisors who want to relinquish their broker-dealer registrations and forego commission-based work but lack the time, resources or desire to establish and manage their own RIA. Through SFA, its affiliated broker-dealer, Strategic Blueprint allows those who are transitioning from commission business—or whose business models include commission pricing—to maintain registration.

Mr. Pittman, Executive Vice President of Strategic Blueprint, said, "I'm excited to join Strategic Blueprint, which has the right vision, culture, expertise and resources to appeal to all independent financial advisors who want to make advice the centerpiece of their practice, all while simplifying administrative obligations, and reducing the time and money they spend on compliance responsibilities. Moreover, because of SFA's industry-leading due diligence resources for a wide array of complex retail alternative investment products, advisors on the Strategic Blueprint platform can stand out among a crowded field of competitors by being able to meet specialized client needs in unique ways."

Clive Slovin, President and CEO of SFA Partners, said, "We're delighted to welcome David Pittman to the leadership team of our Strategic Blueprint subsidiary. Over his 16 years in the distribution space for retail alternatives, a longstanding area of focus for our organization, David has worked closely with thousands of financial advisors, bringing a unique blend of empathy, perspective and expertise in helping them to address challenges and capture new opportunities. Given David's ability to forge strong relationships with experienced financial advisors based on a high degree of mutual trust, I'm confident he will help take Strategic Blueprint to a new level of success, as a dynamic, nurturing and supportive advisory platform for independent advisors across the country."

Ms. Sullivan, President of Strategic Blueprint, said, "We're thrilled with the progress we've made with Strategic Blueprint's growth since our formal launch, and the addition of David to our team will enable us to accelerate our strategies for capturing the rising demand among experienced financial advisors for independent platforms that offer innovative solutions and affiliation models. I look forward to partnering closely with David as we continue to build out Strategic Blueprint, guided by our constant objective of supporting the long-term success of our affiliated advisors."

A seasoned financial services industry leader with 16 years of prior experience with retail alternatives distribution, Mr. Pittman most recently spent six years at FS Investments, a retail alternative investments firm. While there, he worked in both sales and management roles, and also served on the company's Management Advisory Committee.

Mr. Pittman holds a bachelor's in Business Administration from the University of Georgia, as well as the Certified Investment Management Analyst and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst professional designations.

Mr. Slovin concluded, "The appeal of the Strategic Blueprint platform is undeniable, as is our unique opportunity to serve independent financial advisors who want to exit the brokerage space but neither want to manage their own RIA nor lose access to the hands-on, comprehensive support offered by a full-service independent broker-dealer. It's clear that a new chapter of innovation and energy has commenced in our industry, and we see Strategic Blueprint, together with the broader SFA Partners organization, playing a significant role in driving its future."