His move ends a 23-year career at MSSB and its predecessor firms. There, he advised on assets approaching $500 million in the firm's Florham Park, NJ, branch, Fieldpoint Private said in a statement yesterday.

In leaving the firm, Conway referred to some potential conflicts of interest that can happen at large firms, without going into details.

"There was a time when advisors who valued financial strength, full investment capabilities and high-end intellectual capital had to be at a firm like MSSB," Conway said. "Those days are behind us. I've come to Fieldpoint Private because its capabilities are the equal of any behemoth firm, but they are delivered in a customized boutique client experience, without so much as a hint of conflicting interests."

Robert Matthews, the president and chief executive of Fieldpoint Private, also spent more than two decades at the firms that eventually became MSSB. (The Smith Barney name has now entered the history books with the firm being re-named as Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.)

"Among our founders are several financial industry leaders who spent their careers at the major brokerages, including five who had served as chairman and chief executive of those firms," Matthews said. "They were compelled to create Fieldpoint Private because they had come to the realization that the kind of firm they needed for their own families simply didn't exist," Matthews said.

Conway joined Shearson Lehman in 1989, growing his practice as the firm transitioned into Smith Barney, and later Salomon Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

Conway will be based in Fieldpoint Private's Park Avenue offices in New York City.