New York wealth management start-up Dynasty Financial Partners has hired a major US Trust team to give impetus to its plans to create a network for independent investment advisors to ultra high net worth individuals.

"There is a hole in the marketplace for a dedicated service provider with a deep understanding of high-end advisors and what they need to grow their business," Dynasty chief executive Shirl Penney told Reuters.

Penney said he sees doing business with the top 2 to 3 per cent of US wealth advisors and is at present talking to about 30 teams as potential clients, managing a total $15 billion of assets.

Yesterday Dynasty marked its official launch with the hire of US Trust's Michael Brown as its wealth management director. His team managed $5.9 billion in client assets, according to a Barron's 2009 survey quoted by Reuters.

Brown said he made the move for several reasons, including an equity stake in Dynasty, a more client-friendly business model and the chance to work with some big-league names who signed on as investors and directors.

Board members include former American Express CEO Harvey Golub, William Donaldson, the former CEO of Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman.

Chairman is Todd Thomson, formerly chairman and CEO of Citigroup Global Wealth Management, comprised of Smith Barney, the Citigroup Private Bank, and Citigroup Investment Research.