Stifel signed on two teams managing more than $450 million in combined assets to staff two new branch offices, according to the firm, furthering the regional broker-dealer’s aggressive hiring streak in recent months.
Husband-and-wife team John and Mary Macukas will staff a new location in Sante Fe, New Mexico — the firm’s first location in the state. The advisors were previously with UBS where they oversaw $181 million in client assets.
Stifel hopes the Sante Fe office will be the first of many in New Mexico, according to John Lee, director of Stifel’s Western region.
“In 2007, we had zero presence west of Colorado. Over the last 13 years, we have opened more than 70 offices in every Western state but New Mexico. The gap is now closed and we are open for business,” Lee said in a statement.
John Macukas had been with UBS since 2000, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records. Mary Macukas had worked at the company since 2008.
Across the country at Stifel’s other newly established office — in Audubon, New Jersey — the firm hired advisors Richard Bonnette, sons Eric and Breton, as well as Edward Ellis and Lawrence Brown. The team was previously with Merrill Lynch, where they oversaw $280 million in client assets.
Stifel’s Audubon office is its seventh in the Garden State.
The Bonnette Wealth Management Group “will be the anchor that will help Stifel grow a bigger presence in the area,” said Paul MacCrory, manager of Stifel’s Philadelphia market. “And I am excited for them to be a part of our future.”
Richard Bonnette has been in the industry 34 years, 12 of which he spent at Merrill Lynch. His sons Eric and Breton have nine and 13 years of experience, respectively.
Ellis started his career at Merrill in 2012 while Brown had been with the wirehouse for a year.
Stifel's brokerage force grew to 2,232 advisors for the second quarter from 2,193 for the year-ago period. The firm’s advisors operated from 447 branches, up from 413.
