Cavner unloads financial services firm

Nine months after pleading guilty to a federal charge of interstate stalking and just eight months after launching her own financial services firm, prominent Springfield financial adviser Nadia Cavner has sold her company.

In the agreement to sell Nadia Cavner Group on Jan. 14 for an undisclosed amount to Overland Park, Kan.-based Lawing Financial Inc., the embattled adviser will serve in a temporary role during the transition, according to a Lawing representative.

Lawing Financial, which has operated a Springfield office since 2008, currently operates at 3271 E. Battlefield Road, Ste. 100.

Though Cavner declined to speak about her reasons for selling, it appears her firm’s client roster slimmed considerably in the days following her felony guilty plea related to harassing her daughter’s ex-boyfriend.  

Previously listed as one of the Top Investment Advisors in America by both Barron’s Magazine and researcher R.J. Shook, Cavner managed assets of $490 million for about 1,100 households before leaving BancorpSouth in May. In the buyout, Lawing picked up roughly $300 million in assets under management from the Nadia Cavner Group.

Alex Greenwood, a spokesman for Lawing via Alexander G Public Relations LLC, declined to disclose terms of the transaction at the direction of the parties involved. He said Lawing was not planning to employ Cavner beyond an unspecified transition period.

Greenwood declined to say whether Cavner or Lawing sought the deal. He said both offices would remain open – Cavner’s at 2620 E. Normandy St., Ste. 108 – and there were no plans in place to reduce her staff of four. As of press time, he also did not respond to questions on whether Cavner would keep any clients.

Multiple calls to three members of Cavner’s 10-member advisory board – established with longtime investors to guide operations of the new firm – were not returned by press time.

With the purchase, Lawing’s Springfield office ranks second in terms of revenue and assets under advisement, just ahead of the firm’s Dallas office. Lawing Financial employs 90 investment advisers and manages nearly $3 billion in assets across six offices companywide.

“The ability to serve more clients in the Springfield area has been a key part of our business growth strategy,” said Kerry Lawing, the firm’s CEO and president, in a Jan. 20 news release announcing the sale. “This acquisition is a natural step as we follow our plan to take advantage of opportunities to grow our existing presence in successful locations while seeking to open new offices in one new city every year for the next four to five years.”

The acquisition follows Lawing Financial’s entrance into the greater Minneapolis market in October and the Denver area in May. Greenwood confirmed a Kansas City Business Journal report that Lawing Financial revenue grew 45 percent in 2013 and 40 percent in 2012. Currently, the company is preparing to open two to three offices this year and an additional 10,000 square feet at its headquarters.

“The timing of this opportunity in Springfield works well with our strategic plans,” said Lawing, who was unavailable for an interview, in the release. “Based on our years of success in the Springfield region, we have been considering various options for growth in the area. Timing of this opportunity was good for our firm and the team based in Springfield, as this acquisition nearly doubles our presence in this Missouri area.”

Cavner referred all questions to Greenwood.

Following the sale, Cavner still has legal matters to sort out.

In April, Cavner pleaded guilty in federal court acknowledging intentions to injure, harass or intimidate her college-age daughter’s ex-boyfriend Patrick McFarland. In May, Cavner left BancorpSouth Inc. (NYSE: BXS), where she had been employed for eight years, and opened her firm immediately southeast from her old office.

In August, Cavner was sentenced to five years of probation and six months of home detention.

According to securities regulations, a felony would statutorily disqualify Cavner from selling securities in the United States for a decade.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority spokeswoman Michelle Ong has said financial advisers can appeal FINRA’s disqualifications and licenses are not pulled until an independent board conducts a full review. Anonymous sources who contacted Springfield Business Journal and media partner KSPR in November said Cavner’s regulatory hearing was held Nov. 7.

According to her broker profile at FINRA.org, Cavner remains licensed to sell securities. Cavner, who has passed Series 7, 24 and 63 exams, is not currently suspended or inactive with any regulator, according to the site.

FINRA’s Ong said by email an update on Cavner’s status to sell securities was not available, and Ong did not respond to additional questions.

Meanwhile, a civil case brought against Cavner in October by McFarland and his girlfriend, Kristen Stancher, is ongoing. McFarland and Stancher are seeking at least $500,000 from Cavner and other parties, according to their court filing. The suit also named Cavner associates Khulan Denny and Rodney Stafford, as well as Tupelo, Miss.-based BancorpSouth.

According to January court filings, Denny and BancorpSouth have asked the court to dismiss claims against them because they say the plaintiffs have failed to adequately demonstrate the defendants were at fault.

The suit claims Denny temporarily moved to Memphis, Tenn., to enact stalking measures that included written letters and phone calls.

According to the plaintiffs, BancorpSouth is vicariously liable because its agents used the bank’s resources to harass them.

Douglas Rudman, a St. Louis attorney representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, declined to say whether settlements have been proposed.

“We are still in the early stages,” Rudman said, declining to estimate when the complex case could be resolved. “I prefer to do my talking in court.”