Steward Partners hired two advisors from Wells Fargo, marking the latest gains for the fast-growing independent firm affiliated with Raymond James.
Advisors Corrado Spezzacatena and James Galbraith III joined Steward Partners' office in Morristown, New Jersey.
Since its founding in 2013, Steward Partners has picked up a number of wirehouse advisors and added new offices in nine states. The Washington, D.C.-based firm continued its hiring spurt through this year. Just last month,
Spezzacatena and Galbraith were drawn to Steward Partners and Raymond James for the platform and what they say is the greater flexibility offered by the independent business model.
“Moving firms can be a daunting task but we couldn’t be happier about this and what it means for our clients,” Spezzacatena said in a statement.
Thirty-seven percent of those making more than $500,000 live paycheck to paycheck, Goldman Sachs found, making this a problem for more than just lower- income workers.
The second-largest asset custodian tilts its policies toward larger firms as commission-free trading continues to eat into its business safeguarding client assets.
Advisory practice sellers frequently wish they had taken more time for important strategic tasks before the deal, David Grau of Succession Resource Group says. He provided a list explaining why the timeline will take longer than many sellers may think.
Both Spezzacatena and Galbraith had been with Wells Fargo since it acquired A.G. Edwards, the regional brokerage firm where the duo previously worked. Spezzacatena started working at A.G. Edwards in 2002, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records.
Galbraith first registered with Lehman Brothers in 1992. He moved his practice to A.G. Edwards in 1996, according to BrokerCheck.
A Wells Fargo spokeswoman was unavailable to comment.
The advisor losses are the latest for Wells Fargo where head count has fallen steadily since a fake accounts scandal came to light nearly two years ago and resulted in heightened regulatory scrutiny and hefty monetary penalties.
