After
"You are always on the same side as the client. That always made me comfortable: Whatever it is that I'm advising, it is something that would ultimately benefit my clients," Kedir, a 17-year industry veteran who left Hightower for Steward on Oct. 3, said in an interview. "When you are really legally held accountable for acting on behalf of the client's interest, it gives you that trust."
Representatives for Hightower declined to comment on her move, although they did respond to
"We acknowledge the interest regarding recent internal adjustments at our company," spokeswoman Laura Simpson said in an email. "It's important to clarify that these decisions were made as part of our ongoing strategic realignment, aimed at optimizing our resources and ensuring the long-term success of our business. We remain confident in our financial stability and are committed to delivering exceptional service to our clients within the Hightower community as we move forward."
Rather than noting any particular shortcomings of Hightower, Kedir said that Steward better reflected "the same core values" of her advisory practice.
Her team manages about $170 million in client assets on behalf of a base that's predominantly doctors, and she and her office manager relocated the business roughly an hour's drive north up Florida's western coast from their previous location in Punta Gorda. In her spare time, she teaches financial literacy classes for local women who learn about investing, estate planning and fraud risks from her and guest speakers.
Steward's service, technology, available product shelf and friendly culture drew her to the firm, along with the fact that the company's advisors and employees receive stock shares in Steward, enabling them to have equity in its growth, Kedir said.
"I have received so many phone calls welcoming me here. Advisors at other places would be competing with me," she said. "I know that this will be the best place for my clients. I can give the service that they deserve."
Steward had previously given advisors the choice of being either W-2 employees of the firm or 1099 independent contractors, but the RIA-only designation will open a new door into working with the company without registering at its brokerage. The firm
The RIA-only option represents the latest out of "the constellation of affiliation models that are springing up in the independent space," according to David Himmel, a senior associate at industry research and consulting firm
"There are all these different ways that independent advisors can find the autonomy in how they want to run their practices and businesses," he said.
Steward is aiming to double the firm's size in the next three to four years "but to do it deliberately and with the right people," Jeffrey Gonyo, the firm's senior divisional president of the southeast, said in an interview. The firm has hired 50 to 60 corporate employees for its operations and technology teams since last year's transition from Raymond James Financial Services to Steward Partners Investment Solutions, its RIA and brokerage, Gonyo noted.
The RIA affiliation could aid the firm in recruiting and potential future M&A deals as "the next logical step for us" after "a transformative year" for Steward, he said.
"It's a very large segment of the industry out there," Gonyo said. "We have a unique opportunity to be able to deliver that and expand upon it, and I see this as probably one of the major growth areas of the firm."
