When advisors join Raymond James, they can decide if they want to come in as direct employees or as independent contractors. And those who choose direct employment will soon find themselves working under Tom Walrond.
Walrond, who came to Raymond James in 1998 following short stints at Halpert and Company and Wheat, First Securities, was named Wednesday as the incoming president of Raymond James & Associates. That position will have him working with more than 3,700 advisors who are affiliated with the St. Petersburg, Florida-based independent broker-dealer as direct employees.
Walrond is currently director of Raymond James & Associates' eastern division, which has offices in more than 130 locations throughout Florida, Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. He starts in his new position on Oct. 1.
Advisors bill of rights
Michael Terrana, the founder of the Terrana Group recruiting firm in Chicago, said Walrond's promotion fits with Raymond James' tendency to turn to its own ranks for top executives. Terrana said Raymond James is one of the most active and successful recruiters in the wealth management industry, especially after increasing its transition deals in the past year.
Walrond's biggest task, Terrana said, may be just to keep things skating along as they are now.
"The puck is definitely moving in his direction rather than away," Terrana said.
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Raymond James' recent
Terrana said he has noticed no clear preference for either independence or direct employment among the teams he has recruited to Raymond James over more than 25 years. He puts a great deal of stock in Raymond James' Financial Advisor Bill of Rights, a policy that states advisors' own their books of business no matter how they choose to affiliate with the firm.
"The book of business is considered an advisor's asset the day you join Raymond James," he said.
All about choice
Jodie Papike, CEO of
"If they are leaving from someplace where they were already independent, most likely they are not going to consider the employee channel," she said. "But if they're coming from a wirehouse, a regional firm or a bank, they may consider it."'
Raymond James also enjoys an advantage, Papike said, in being
"With such a tremendous amount of consolidation, it's firms like Raymond James that have been stable for so long that are appealing," Papike said. "You know when you go there, you are not going to have some sort of roll up or some sort of other major change or major shift. Stability is key for recruiting now."
Promoting from within
But that doesn't mean Raymond James has entered stasis mode. Walrond's promotion is just one of several big changes being made to the executive ranks at Raymond James.
In March, the firm announced that
That pattern of looking inward for promotion candidates continued with the other position changes Raymond James made public on Wednesday. Besides Walrond's new role, Raymond James also announced that:
- Butch Oorlog, now chief accounting officer at Raymond James Financial, will become chief financial officer, succeeding Shoukry.
- Steve Raney, now CEO and chairman of Raymond James Bank, will oversee the firm's entire bank segment. Amanda Stevens will succeed him as CEO of Raymond James Bank.
- Steve Hufford, the chief operating officer of investment banking, will become head of investment banking.
"Being able to fill all of these senior leadership positions with internal promotions is a testament to our firm's longstanding focus on talent development and succession planning. Most importantly, these leaders all share a commitment to reinforce and strengthen our unique values and culture at Raymond James," Shoukry said in a statement.
Recruiting opportunities just starting
In taking over Raymond James' channel for directly employed financial advisors, Walrond succeeds Tash Elwyn. Elwyn is moving up to become president of the company's private client group, which takes in both the direct employee and independent channels. And Scott Curtis, current head of the private client group, is becoming the firm's chief operating officer.
Walrond's counterpart in Raymond James' independent contractor division is Shannon Reid, who works with roughly 5,000 independent advisors. Reid became president of Raymond James Financial Services at the start of the year when the previous holder of that position, Jodi Perry, moved on to become national head of advisor recruiting.
Terrana predicted the team's recruiting opportunities will become only more abundant in coming years.
"Especially with the aging advisor population, advisors are getting a lot more attention and are at least investigating what it might be like to position themselves to monetize their practices," he said. "A lot are saying, 'I might want to bring my kids into the business. So what if I go independent, and I create equity in my practice.'"
