Raymond James Expands Advisor Division

Raymond James has expanded its investment advisor division with four new regional directors.

The division, created in 2001 and made up of affiliated RIA firms who custody their assets with Raymond James, now includes about 100 firms, approximately 250 advisors, and more than $8 billion in assets.

"This announcement reinforces our commitment to be a major player in the RIA and hybrid space," Bill Van Law, president of Raymond James Investment Advisors Division, told Financial Planning. "Recent studies have shown that the this is the fastest growing sector of the wealth management industry and we feel this is a major growth opportunity for Raymond James. Our new offering now allows RIA firms the ability to operate in the advisory/hybrid space while being supported by a full service custodian, that provides industry-leading technology, award-winning research and enjoys a reputation of integrity and a client-first culture."

The four new U.S.-based regional directors, as outlined by Raymond James in a statement, are the following:

Sean Marrin, based in Denver, is the regional director covering 17 western states. He joins Raymond James from LPL, where he was a recruiter. Prior to joining LPL, Marrin spent more than 18 years with Charles Schwab, where he served in a variety of roles, spending his last nine years at Schwab Advisor Services as a senior business development officer. Prior positions include key accounts manager, branch manager and investment consultant.

Chuck Curtis is the regional director for the central U.S. region based in the firm’s headquarters in St. Petersburg, Fla. He spent more than 28 years at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and predecessor firms, serving in a variety of roles during his tenure. Curtis was named to On Wall Street’s Top 10 Branch Managers of the Year and was on MSSB’s National Branch Manager Council. He managed Smith Barney’s Oakbrook, Ill., office as well as the firm’s Tampa branch and most recently was the complex director for central Florida.

Glenn Flego is the regional director for the Northeast. He joins Raymond James from Fidelity, where he was vice president of institutional wealth services. Prior to Fidelity, he was the head of sales and marketing for Interactive Advisory Software, a provider of  technology solutions for portfolio measurement, financial planning, customer relationship management, trading and process management.

Flego began his financial services career with Charles Schwab in New York City, where he headed the institutional program for the Tristate area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. He then moved to Denver as Schwab’s regional marketing manager, responsible for institutional sales and relationship management for six states and helped establish the firm’s institutional trading desk. He then worked for Fidelity Investments, where he was senior vice president and national sales manager.

Christian Williams is the regional director for the Southeast, based in Raleigh, N.C. He joined Raymond James in 2007 as a vice president and business development consultant for the firm’s independent broker-dealer, where he successfully recruited numerous high quality advisors to the Independent Contractors Division, the Financial Institutions Division and the Investment Advisors Division.

Prior to joining Raymond James, Williams was with UBS, where he was a director of retail offices in North Carolina. Following three years touring as a professional golfer, Williams began his wealth management career as a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch. While at Merrill Lynch, he built a  business with more than $200 million in client assets before pursuing a career in management, starting in Merrill’s Washington, D.C., office.

The investment advisor division is not the only division Raymond James plans to grow. The appointments follow the firm’s announcement this week to open a new office in Seattle for its employee broker-dealer Raymond James & Associates. “Quite frankly the best market that RJA is not in, is that Seattle market,” John Kuklenski, the divisional director of Raymond James’ north central division, said. “Our highest priority is to establish a presence out there.”

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