A Wells Fargo team which oversaw $450 million in client assets moved to Raymond James & Associates, the firm said.
Advisors Sanford Family, Kenneth Leonard and Brian Crowley generated $3 million in annual revenues while at the wirehouse, according to Raymond James.
The trio, operating as Sanford Family Financial of Raymond James from the firm's first employee office in Albany, N.Y., was looking to leave Wells Fargo because of a push the wirehouse was making to sell more bank products, the team says.
Family notes that Raymond James offers a choice of business models and allows brokers to own their books of business.
"Empowerment is important to us," Family tells On Wall Street.
Leonard says the group had first spoken with Raymond James more than 3 years ago, and while the move wasn't immediate, he found the firm hard to resist. "I couldn't get them out of my mind after we met," he says.
He also touted the direct contact advisors have with Raymond James CEO Paul Reilly.
A spokeswoman for Wells was not immediately available for comment.
Family startred his financial services career with IFSA in 1983, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records.
Leonard and Crowley teamed up with Family while the three worked at McDonald Investments, according to Raymond James. Together, they made the move to Wachovia, which was later purchased by Wells Fargo.
Also moving with the group are senior client service associates Melissa Taylor and Lianne Hotaling.
Tash Elwyn, president of Raymond James & Associates Private Client Group said in a statement that recent moves like that of the Family team were key to the firm's expansion efforts in the northeast. Last week, the firm said it had recruited a West Nyack, N.Y.-based team from Merrill Lynch. Led by veteran advisor Chris Mahoney
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