A Wells Fargo $180 million team starts an RIA

Three-person Guardian Financial Partners is based in Orange, Calif.

A three-person team managing $180 million in client assets at Wells Fargo Advisors in Orange, Calif., has broken away and formed a registered investment advisory firm.

The firm, Guardian Financial Partners, is headed by Patrick C. Guinet and the firm’s other founding partners, Hung Nguyen and Casey Bartels. It practiced as the Guinet & Nguyen Wealth Advisory Group at Wells Fargo.

“We did not come to this decision lightly or without extensive research,” said Mr. Guinet in a press release. “The wealth management industry has changed immensely over the years and it was becoming ever more difficult for us to serve our clients as true fiduciaries under a broker/dealer model.”

Mr. Guinet began his securities career at Kidder Peabody in 1986, and in 1994 moved to Prudential Securities, a predecessor firm of Wells Fargo.

Mr. Nguyen started his career at Prudential Securities in 1997 and began working with Mr. Guinet in 1999. Mr. Bartels, who began his securities career at Wells Fargo in 2007, joined the two in 2008.

The firm will use Schwab as its custodian.