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November 18, 2014 at 11:21 AM
To help it pursue wirehouse advisors, Raymond James Financial (RJF) said Tuesday that it had recruited Michael Schipper, a former-Merrill Lynch (BAC) advisor in the Midwest who led branches for Citigroup-Smith Barney (C) and Morgan Stanley (MS) in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past 10 years.
Schipper is now in charge of Raymond James’ employee channel at 575 Market Street in San Francisco. He’s been in the business for 23 years, mostly as a branch manager for wirehouse firms.
“As we deliver on our objective of expanding our brand in the West, and California in particular, Raymond James is delighted to have partnered with such proven talent as Michael. His experience in building and developing teams of advisors is just what we are looking for as we build out this market,” said Raymond James & Associates President Tash Elwyn, in a statement.
“He and complex manager Nathan Clakley, along with other recent appointments in Santa Barbara, San Diego and Beverly Hills, will help lead a focused expansion in these areas that are a key part of our growth strategy for the firm,” Elwyn added.
Schipper, who grew up in a small town about 45 miles away from Davenport, Iowa, says he sees “plenty of opportunity” ahead for Raymond James.
“That’s what it is all about,” the branch manager said, in an interview with ThinkAdvisor. “In the Bay Area and other parts of California, many financial advisors don’t know the full story or Raymond James, yet. I’m excited to tell the story.”
The Raymond James “story,” Schipper says, it that is has a “robust platform, outstanding technology and the highest integrity in the business, and the firm puts its full resources behind its financial advisors.”
Plus, these advisors “maintain full ownership of their practices — and that’s put that in writing,” he explains. “You won’t find that anywhere else on Wall Street. At other firms, they have really taken on idea that [the business] is about their clients, and advisors are servicing accounts. Clearly, these firms will go after the clients if an advisor leaves. Raymond James will not.”
