$130M BKD Advisor Joins Relatives at RJFS Firm

An advisor who was managing $130 million in client assets at BKD Wealth Advisors has joined Sage Private Wealth Group, an independent firm in in Wheaton, Ill., affiliated with Raymond James Financial Services, the firm said in a statement.

Roy E. Cook had about $1.3 million in annual revenue when he left his previous post at BKD in March, according to Raymond James. Now, as director of investments at Sage, Cook is responsible for managing asset allocation as well as the firm's recommended list of funds, ETFs and individual securities, the firm says.

The move puts him under the same roof as both his brother, Shawn P. Cook, and Shawn's wife, Martha Cook -- although a greater factor was the opportunity to join a smaller, growing firm, Roy Cook says.

"There was tremendous amount of growth opportunity and potential," he says; the press release announcing the move said that Sage has nearly $500 million in client assets. "They've doubled in size every year for the last three years, which is a tremendous amount of growth."

Cook spent four years at the Chicago-based advisory firm Wolf Financial Management, which ultimately merged with BKD in November 2014, according to the firm. Cook started his career 20 years ago at U.S. Bank Asset Management; he also worked at Baker Tilly Capital in Chicago from 2006 to 2009, according to FINRA's BrokerCheck.

Raymond James recently recruited an advisor team with an annual production of $1.3 million from Wells Fargo to join its independent broker-dealer operation.

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