$100M UBS adviser goes indie with Steward Partners

Raymond James by Raymond James

Steward Partners, the independent firm affiliated with Raymond James, has recruited a UBS adviser managing $100 million in client assets, the firm says.

Tom W. O'Bryon II, an adviser with nearly 40 years of industry experience, joined Steward Partners' office in Bethesda, Md. During his long career, O'Bryon has only been employed with three firms: Ferris Baker Watts, Legg Mason and UBS.

"Of course there were recruiting calls all the time," O'Bryon says. "Most of them I wasn't interested in. But Steward Partners was intriguing."

Steward’s Divisional President, Jeffrey Gonyo, says he actually tried recruiting O'Bryon when Gonyo was a manager at Morgan Stanley.

O'Bryon, a former Navy pilot, says he made the move because he was impressed with the firm's structure and culture, and was also interested in the opportunity to reconnect with former Legg Mason colleagues, such as Constance Miner, who joined the firm from UBS in January.

That comradery was another key reason for making the move, he says.

O'Bryon says he plans to "continue to build my business and be able to offer a legacy that will be good for Steward Partners as well as myself and my family."

Gonyo says that the firm wanted to recruit O'Bryon because he was a good fit and was deeply involved with his community. "Tom solidifies the core culture of people we've developed."

Steward Partners, founded by former wirehouse managers, has had success in enticing away wirehouse advisers.
Last month, the Washington, D.C.-based firm said it hired a Morgan Stanley adviser managing $570 million in client assets.

Executives say their recruiting pipeline is robust and will get a boost once the firm launches Steward Partners RIA later this year. That will enable them to offer advisers more choices in how to do business.

Jim Gold, the firm's president, says Steward Partners is gaining "traction across the board."

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Career moves Wirehouses Wirehouse advisors UBS Steward Partners Raymond James Financial
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