Ralph Ortega

The recruit leaves a team led by a past On Wall Street Top 40 Under 40 adviser.

The recruit oversaw $110 million in client assets while working for the wirehouse, according to the regional firm.

The group of industry veterans had $1.7 million in annual production, according to the regional BD.

The advisers are the first to obtain startup capital from the firm.

Stephens recruited an executive with more than 30 years experience, whose career includes stops at Wells Fargo, Credit Suisse, Lehman Brothers, PaineWebber and Merrill Lynch.

The advisers had about $1.5 million in annual revenues when they were at the wirehouse, according to the regional firm.

Why it may be time to stop calling the firm a wirehouse.

The regional firm picks up a recruit whose career in financial services began 25 years ago.

Though against the firm's policy, the wirehouse still permitted the purchase of securities with credit lines "on thousands of occasions" during a four-year period, according to the regulator.

The advisers joined the firm's independent and employee channels from rivals such as Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Cetera.