Oppenheimer names new managers, pulls in wirehouse talent

Oppenheimer & Co. promoted Jim Lowe to senior vice president of its private client division, replacing Tom Fritzlen, who is retiring after 31 years at the company, the firm says.

The brokerage firm, which was hit earlier this month with $2.9 million in sanctions by FINRA for unsuitable sales, has also recruited two wirehouse branch managers in Seattle and Atlanta.

Read more: FINRA sanctions Oppenheimer $2.9M for unsuitable sales of nontraditional ETFs

Mark Whaley, head of the private client division, said in a statement that Lowe was selected to succeed Fritzlen due to his extensive industry experience and long tenure at Oppenheimer.

Lowe, who will be operating out of the brokerage's New York office, most recently served as the manager of Oppenheimer's lower Manhattan branch.

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He transitioned to Oppenheimer from Josephthal & Co., a New York-based retail brokerage the firm acquired in 2001. He worked for 13 years at Josephthal, overseeing operations at 14 branch offices, says Oppenheimer.

He began his career in 1982 at Dean Witter Reynolds, according to BrokerCheck. He left five months later and proceeded to switch four jobs within two years before finally settling down at Brooks Weinger Robbins & Leeds, where he stayed for a little over three years. He made two more jumps after that prior to joining Josephthal in 1989.

Separately, Oppenheimer has named Mark Trafford and Todd Wiggins as managers of its Seattle and Atlanta branches, respectively.

Trafford comes to Oppenheimer from the Seattle branch of Wells Fargo, according to Oppenheimer. Prior to that role, he managed the wirehouse’s Kirkland/Issaquah complex. He has 21 years of industry experience, having started at Dain Rauscher in 1994, according to BrokerCheck records.

Wiggins is also a wirehouse veteran. He was most recently at UBS, and before that Morgan Stanley, both in Scottsdale, Ariz. Wiggins started his career in 1993 at G Equity Investment Group in San Diego.

Commenting on their appointments, Whaley said both Trafford and Wiggins were recruited for their industry experience and “proven leadership styles for building talent and culture.”

Spokespeople from Wells Fargo and UBS declined to comment on their departures.

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