Two financial advisory firms, Westchester Wealth Management Group and Legacy Group, have joined HighTower Advisors LLC to form Cognetic Capital Advisors.

Westchester was formerly affiliated with Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network LLC, while Legacy was an adviser for Morgan Stanley.

The combined asset management team, which manages $1 billion in client assets, is led by co-founders Joel Talish and John Buffa, who will serve as CEO and managing director, respectively. Talish previously worked at Wells Fargo for more than 10 years, while Buffa was with Morgan Stanley for 19 years.

Cognetic Capital Advisors will be based in HighTower's New York offices.