One of the largest enterprises affiliated with Raymond James Financial Services is having its best recruiting year to date after adding 15 advisors.
In 2021 thus far, San Diego-based Concurrent has added nine teams with a combined $1.26 billion in client assets, including 8 advisors from Wells Fargo Advisors, one from Wells Fargo Bank and one from Morgan Stanley, according to the firm. With five other advisors joining the office of supervisory jurisdiction in a succession-plan-related move within Raymond James, Concurrent is ahead of its four previous years since ex-wirehouse brokers Kevin McFarland and Mike Hlavek launched the firm, they said in an interview.
The OSJ spans 125 advisors in 55 offices with $11.5 billion in assets under management. Five existing independent Raymond James advisors joining Concurrent as a team with $376 million in client assets were “a one-off situation” since Concurrent doesn’t recruit from either of its broker-dealer’s two channels, Hlavek says. In the past 15 months amid the pandemic, many advisors have struggled with corporate support staff departures and even problems getting someone from the main office on the phone at times, he says.
“They are continuing to assess what support and what resources they're getting from their broker-dealers,” Hlavek says. “It's causing a lot of turmoil internally with them and their clients and it's just another catalyst for them to look elsewhere.”
Concurrent is “very careful about who we affiliate with” out of the potential incoming field of recruits, with the majority of the new advisors coming from wirehouses, according to McFarland. The firm also added
“If you were built to be remote, you really have an advantage,” McFarland says. “We were fortunate to be on a platform that was more prepared than others.”
Representatives for Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the teams’ departures.
Concurrent’s latest recruits joined between January and early May, according to FINRA BrokerCheck.
Managing Partner Michael Grover’s Modesto, California-based Grover Financial Group represents the largest new group, although it was previously with the same IBD. The practice includes advisors Robert Powell, Justin Grover and Eric Taylor, and support staffers Jan Constable and Linda Carranza. In addition, advisor Thad Ortez joined Concurrent from the same team, where he managed $65 million in client assets.
Advisor Zach Yaklin moved to Concurrent from Wells Fargo Bank in San Diego and Traverse, Michigan. Yaklin’s team managed $213 million in client assets at the prior firm. In Pittsburg, Kansas, Randy Sauer of Sauer Wealth Management and support employee Kallee Tucker became the first Concurrent team in their state after leaving Wells Fargo Advisors. The team managed $192 million with Wells Fargo. In New Port Richey, Florida, advisors Michael Cox and Nic Manns of Cox Private Wealth Management Group left Wells Fargo, where they managed $100 million, for Concurrent.
Solo practitioner George Hoos, the only ex-Morgan Stanley advisor of the group, joined Concurrent in Sarasota, Florida. Hoos managed $100 million with his prior firm.
The five other recruits, all of whom came from Wells Fargo Advisors, are: Clint Tighe and Rob Broome of Winter Park Wealth Group in Winter Park, Florida ($90 million); Warren Bowman in St. Petersburg, Florida ($80 million); Advisor Vikki Ciotti and employee Rona Powers in Sarasota ($65 million); and Jason Fernandez of Wealth Partners Alliance in Dallas ($57 million).
