Steward Adds $1.2B Team From Advisor Group

Steward Partners, an independent wealth firm associated with Raymond James, says it recruited a $1.2 billion team from one of the Advisor Group broker-dealers.

Plaza Advisory Group of St. Louis moves to Steward from Royal Alliance. Its advisors are Tom Briggs, Peter Dolan, certified financial planner Judy Rubin and Scott Bensinger — all of whom have 30 or more years in the business. 

The new team is the first to join Steward via an affiliation model rolled out in October that gives both independent and full-time employees equity in the firm.

“We are thrilled to welcome the Plaza Advisory Group under the firm’s new affiliate offering, something we believe truly highlights the flexibility and unique offering that Steward provides,” said Chris Barton, a divisional president at Steward Partners, in a statement.

Briggs was with Royal Alliance since 1989. He started in the business in 1982 at Equitec Securities. “During turbulent times like these, it’s important for us as advisors to remain focused on our clients and offer guidance to help them move towards their financial goals,” he said in a statement.

(Advisor Group brought Royal Alliance and its other independent BDs together with those of Ladenburg Thalmann earlier this year in a deal that includes some 11,000 registered reps; it recently shared consolidation plans for some operations.)

Rubin, who cut her teeth in the 1980s at Robinson-Humphrey American Express and other firms, added: “Aligning with Steward Partners increases our capabilities to deliver financial services and life advice to the families whom we serve and, having known some of Steward’s leadership team for many years, this feels more like a homecoming than a move.”

Also this week, Steward Partners recruited a team in New York from UBS, where it worked with $220 million in assets: Reservoir Road Financial Group, which includes Ken Roban and Heidi Scali.