June 16, 2021
By Jake Martin
Raymond James Financial’s sweetened deals for experienced brokers in its employee division are paying off, even without matching the high-water mark offers of some rivals, Chief Executive Paul Reilly said on Monday.
The St. Petersburg, Florida-based firm’s hiring in 2021 is already “exceeding” targets that it set out at the start of the year, which “weren’t small,” and is ahead of last year’s pace, Reilly said during Morgan Stanley’s virtual U.S. Financials, Payments and CRE Conference on Monday.
In a testament to Raymond James’ revival, the firm in a previously unreported move last month hired from Merrill a seven-person team managing nearly $900 million in client assets in Salt Lake City. The team’s four brokers had logged more than 100 years with the “Thundering Herd” before leaving the wirehouse on May 7 for Raymond James’ employee channel, according to registration records and a source familiar with the move.
The team, which is called Williams & Townsend Wealth Management Partners, is led by Steven G. Williams, Kevin S. Townsend, Steven R. Williams and Pamela A. Fisher, each of whom had been with Merrill more than 20 years. They were joined in the move by three associates.
