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February 28, 2019 at 09:48 AM
Stifel Financial says it has recruited five advisors from Merrill Lynch with about $496 million in combined client assets, as well as one from Baird with about $78 million and one from Ameriprise Financial with some $50 million – for a total of $624 million of client assets. Earlier in February, Stifel attracted a team from UBS with $730 million.
Bill Linas and Mike Flood joined the firm’s Irvine, California, office from Merrill Lynch, where they were responsible for $184 million and $91 million in assets, respectively.
Beth Radcliff and Richard Cochran moved to Stifel’s Dublin, Ohio, office from Merrill Lynch, where they worked on $169 million in assets, and James DiBlasi became a part of the Syracuse, New York, office of Stifel from Merrill Lynch, where he managed $52 million in assets.
Also, George Charter Harrison IV joined Stifel’s Bellevue, Washington, office from Robert W. Baird, where he worked on $78 million in assets, and Larry Lerhman has joined the firm’s Shrewsbury, New Jersey, office from Ameriprise Financial, where he was responsible for $50 million in client assets.
“As financial advisors digest all the compensation changes that are occurring industry-wide, they continue to join Stifel from wirehouses and regional firms,” according to John Pierce, head of Recruitment.
“Our compensation plan is agnostic to fee vs. brokerage, and we don’t dis-intermediate the advisor from their clients with alternative client platforms or cross-selling – it’s the same approach we have used for 20-plus years since Ron Kruszewski became CEO of Stifel,” Pierce explained.
In mid-February, advisors Tom Lieser, Leigh Anne Gage, and Tom Awadalla joined Stifel from UBS in Cincinnati. The team has 38 years of combined investment industry experience.
“Tom, Leigh Anne, and Tom are three of Cincinnati’s top private wealth advisors,” said Jim Chahine, managing director, Ohio Valley Region, for Stifel, in a statement. “I couldn’t be more excited to have such a high-quality team join us at Stifel.”
The new team is part of Stifel’s new downtown Cincinnati office, the firm’s second in the Cincinnati area and 24th in the state of Ohio.
Cetera Developments
Cetera Financial Group says two of its businesses have added attracted new firms. Cetera Advisor Networks has picked up North Ridge Wealth Planning, which supports over $2.5 billion in client assets, and Cetera Financial Institutions picked up Rogue Credit Union’s Investment Services, with about $181 million.
North Ridge Wealth is based in Melville, New York, and is led by founder, President and CEO Dan Levy.
“Compared with the handful of the other largest broker-dealers in the country that we evaluated, Cetera’s specialty focus and hands-on support stood out above the rest,” Levy said. “We are committed to providing our advisors with every available tool to support and continue to grow their practices while delivering the best possible service to their clients.”
North Ridge leadership also includes COO L. Matthew Levy and Executive Vice President Sandra J. Grinspan. It has been in business for nearly 30 years.
Cetera’s other new addition, Rogue Credit Union’s Investment Services, is a not-for-profit, cooperative financial institution, based in Medford, Oregron. It serves over 135,000 members through 20-plus branches with an asset base of over $1.5 billion.
“We agree with Cetera’s premise that the future of financial advice is based on the ability to deliver an Advice-Centric Experience to clients, helping them achieve financial well-being at each life stage,” according to
Andrew Staley, vice president of Rogue Credit Union’s Investment Services said. “We … are excited by Cetera’s new technology platform, AdviceWorks, which, in addition to a very comprehensive suite of tools and services offered by the firm, will be a key enabler in our ability to provide personalized, goals-based advice to our clients.”
“With the value of the Advice-Centric Experience already deeply understood by Rogue, the credit union is well positioned to leverage Cetera’s progressive technology and team to continue to enrich the communities it serves with high-caliber, planning-based financial guidance,” said Cetera Financial Institutions President LeAnn Rummel, in a statement.
