Raymond James pulls from Wells Fargo

Raymond James snags team from Wells Fargo: Advisor Moves

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Speaking to analysts last week, Raymond James CEO Paul Shoukry said his firm is recruiting advisors at a clip not seen since the financial collapse of 2008.

At least 21 of those new recruits have been pulled from Commonwealth Financial Network ahead of its purchase by LPL Financial. This week, Raymond James also announced it recruited a team from Wells Fargo.

Read about that and other notable moves, deals and more below.

Raymond James pulls $300M team from Wells Fargo

Raymond James is bolstering its presence in Illinois with an advisor duo recruited from Wells Fargo.

Thomas Ray and Matt Broch have joined Raymond James & Associates, the firm's channel for direct employees, to found Heartland Capital Wealth Management of Raymond James in Springfield, Illinois. They had previously managed roughly $300 million at Wells Fargo Advisors. Joining them is Michelle Roher, a senior registered client service associate.

Ray has more than 32 years of industry experience. He started at Merrill in 1992, moved to Citi in 2004, Morgan Stanley in 2009 and Wells Fargo in 2011. He will serve as senior vice president of investments at his new practice.

Broch, now a senior vice president of wealth management, has more than 23 years of industry experience. He started at A.G. Edwards in 2002, moved to Citi in 2007, Morgan Stanley in 2009 and Wells Fargo in 2011.

Farther boosts AUM with recruiting drive

Farther, a technology-heavy RIA, is on pace to triple its assets under management in the first half of the year, in part by recruiting more than 20 advisors in the second quarter.

San Francisco-based Farther, which was founded in 2019 by a former Goldman Sachs employee and former investment banker and management consultant, announced that its AUM tally is on pace to reach $13 billion. That will be around three times what it was at the start of the year.

Helping drive the increase was just over two dozen advisors recruited from around the country. Among them are advisors pulled from Commonwealth Financial Network, which is set to be acquired by LPL Financial later this year; SVB Wealth, which was formerly part of Silicon Valley Bank and now a division of First Citizens Bank; Cetera and Ameriprise.

Farther has also appointed three managing directors to its RIA leadership team: Bryan D'Alessandro, Thor Gould and Tim Bohnett. They will be responsible for supporting teams and helping deliver tech-powered services to clients.

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Raymond James picks up Texas bank as institutional division client

Raymond James' institutional unit is bringing on more than $600 million with a new partnership with a regional bank in Texas.

Texas Community Bank, which has a $605 million investment program, is joining the Raymond James Financial Institutions Division, which provides brokerage and advisory services to banks and credit unions. The bank's TCB Investments unit, which includes the financial advisors Luis J. Gonzalez III and Carlos M. Chapa, will offer wealth management and investment services through Raymond James Financial Services.

Jon DeMayo, Raymond James Financial Institutions Division vice president of business development, said the collaboration will provide TCB Investments with the resources needed to serve high net worth clients. He said the division's growth in Texas and other key markets reflects the strength of its offerings for financial institutions.

Mercer Global Advisors picks up a $1.2B advisory firm

The RIA-aggregator Mercer Global Advisors is bolstering its presence in Florida with its acquisition of an firm formerly affiiated with Raymond James with more than $1 billion under management.

Mercer, which is majority owned by private equity firms Oak Hill Capital, Genstar Capital and Altas Partners, has picked up Family Wealth Planning Group, a firm in Naples, Florida, with $1.2 billion in assets managed for more than 200 families. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

Family Wealth Planning Group is an independent contractor formerly affiliated with Raymond James. It specializes in working with high net worth families, business owners and executives and offers investment management and estate and tax planning, among other things. Its principal is owner Nadia Keric, making it the 20th woman-led firm to come into Mercer's fold. Keric and eight others now at Family Wealth will remain with the firm following its acquisition by Mercer.

Mercer, which has its headquarters in Denver, now manages more than $77 billion in client assets. Its more than 1,280 employees work out of more than 100 offices.

Mergers and acquisitions have been on a tear in the wealth management industry this year so far. The industry tracking firm DeVoe & Co. reported last month that there were 148 M&A deals involving RIAs in the first half of the year, the highest figure for any comparable period on record.

Lido Advisors acquires RIA with $850M in AUM

Lido Advisors, a Los Angeles-based RIA aggregator, is extending its reach in Utah with the purchase of a large RIA.

Lido, which has $29 billion under management, announced this week that it has acquired Olympus Wealth Management, a fee-only firm with roughly $850 million in client assets. Olympus Wealth has its headquarters in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, which is part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area.

Olympus Wealth consists of an 18-person team led by a trio of former J.P. Morgan private bankers: Scott Bird, Matthew Bloom-Krull and Scott Poelman. They started Olympus in 2013.

Olympus Wealth specializes in working with high net worth and ultrahigh net worth business owners and families. Its offerings also include multifamily office services.

Lido receives backing from the private equity firms Charlesbank Capital Partners and Constellation Wealth Capital.

Cresset appoints chief investment officer, chief investment strategist, COO

Cresset, a large multifamily office practice, is filling its executive suite with internal promotions.

Cresset, a Chicago-based firm with more than $70 million under management, announced that it has named current Executive Managing Director Mike Silverman its new chief investment officer, current Chief Investment Officer Jack Ablin its new chief investment strategist and current Chief Compliance Officer Amy Hong its new chief operating officer.

Ablin is one of the founding partners of Cresset and has been with the firm since 2018. He has more than three decades of experience in money management and was formerly the chief investment officer of BMO Harris Bank.

Silverman joined Cresset in 2024 following its acquisition of CH Investment Partners, where he had been co-president and chief investment officer. Hong also joined Cresset in 2024 and was previously managing director of asset and wealth management at JPMorgan Chase and chief compliance officer and head of operations for First Republic Bank's private wealth business.

"Amy, Mike and Jack are exceptional leaders with a long and distinguished track record of helping to lead growing financial firms," Susie Cranston, president of Cresset, said in a statement.

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