Wells Fargo loses $800M advisors to Raymond James

Raymond James & Associates picked a Wells Fargo team that oversaw $800 million in client assets, the latest in a series of new hires for the regional BD.

Advisors Daniel Kaschmitter and William Gelegotis left Wells Fargo in November to join the regional broker-dealer in Salt Lake City, according to the firm.

The pair are joined by Daniel Kaschmitter's son, senior investment and portfolio analyst Alexander Kaschmitter, Steven Pagoaga, as well as senior client service associate Jennifer Zuspan. The team operates as KPG.

Raymond James has long been among the industry’s most aggressive recruiters. The St. Petersburg, Florida-based firm has more than 8,000 independent and employee advisors and total client assets of approximately $876 billion.

Among the firm’s recent hires are Kenneth Haycraft, a $300 million advisor who left USAA for the regional broker-dealer. And an 11-person team managing $600 million joined Raymond James Financial Services, the firm’s independent broker-dealer, from Northwestern Mutual.

For its part, the KPG team said it was motivated to make the move because of Raymond James’ culture and technology.

A spokeswoman for Wells Fargo declined to comment on the move.

Gelegotis and Kaschmitter have 40 years and 25 years of experience, respectively, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. Both advisors began their careers at PaineWebber and spent over a decade at Wells Fargo before making the move to Raymond James.