A former vice president with Morgan Stanley, Richard Wright, has joined Wedbush’s private client group in San Diego.
With the new recruit, Wedbush continues to push ahead on its five-year plan to reach 700 total advisors and 1,000 advisors by 10 years, according to Wesley Long, executive vice president and head of private client services. The firm currently has over 400 advisors.
At his new post, Wright will be a senior vice president, investments and an estate-planning consultant. He will report to Roc Willis, senior vice president and manager of the San Diego offices.
Wright had previously been with Morgan Stanley for the extent of his career, starting out with Dean Witter in 1979. According to Long, who had been in San Diego helping Wright transition, that long tenure made Wright an attractive prospect.
“We don’t generally like to find some advisor who wants some transition deal,” Long said in a phone interview. “We don’t get too excited about those folks.”
As part of the third wave of its expansion plan, Long said that the firm would be reaching out to advisors at smaller regional firms who may be looking for a larger firm but not a wirehouse.
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“In this environment with the regulatory environment the way it is, [advisors] see it as advantageous to be part of a larger organization, but not a wirehouse,” he said. “In that case, we might be a good fit for them.”
The firm does not disclose how much assets their advisors manage, but Long said that they generally bring over about 85% to 90% on average.
