$200M Team Leaves UBS for Steward Partners

A UBS team that managed more than $200 million in client assets left the wirehouse to join Steward Partners, an independent firm affiliated with Raymond James, a spokesman said.

The two advisors generated $1.5 million in annual revenue, according to the firm.

Constance Miner and Ross Hamilton joined Steward Partners in Bethesda, Md., a suburb of Washington. Miner says that one of the reasons she and Hamilton left UBS was for the flexibility that independent firms can provide.

"I spoke with all kinds of firms, from other wirehouses to regional brokerage firms to more independent-minded firms. Steward Partners and Raymond James, to us, just stood out like a beacon," says Miner, who has 35 years of experience in the financial services industry.

Hamilton, who teamed up with Miner three years ago, adds that they were also impressed by, and happy to have, the backing of a larger firm such as Raymond James.

"We had the opportunity to visit Raymond James in Florida [where they are headquartered], and we were blown away by the quality of the execution and the people they have down there. The technology platform is fantastic. That is something that was really important to us," Hamilton says.

Miner says that once they are done transitioning their clients over to Steward Partners, the team will look to grow their business.

"We are interested in becoming more multigenerational, helping the children of our clients," she says. "One of the things we do is try to meet with the kids when they are going off to college, and do a little financial education - what is investing, what is a stock - [and] start them on the path to understanding all this."

EXPANSION

Growth is also in the plans for Steward Partners.

The independent firm was founded in 2013 by several former wirehouse managers. They've since added teams in Washington, Andover, Mass., Portsmouth, N.H., Bethesda, Md., and New York.

Gregory Banasz, managing director and founding partner, says they are looking to build on those locations and possibly add a few new ones in 2016. But he adds that the growth will be manageable.

"We're not clogging up the calendar. The last thing we want here is to have any of our transitions go wrong," he says, pointing to the firm's detailed transition process, which includes a project manager assigned to each step of the process.

Miner praised their efforts to smooth her transition.

"In my broker life, I had made another transition previously. The step by step outline that Steward provided, where each week there was something coming – the difference it went down is night and day," she says.

Banasz says he looks forward to more advisors making similar transitions to Steward Partners.

"We have people down in Florida for home office visits. I can tell you right now that we are excited to have people like Connie, and for the people who are coming," he says.

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