Unusual loss for Raymond James as $1B team jumps to UBS

Branding for the Swiss bank, UBS Group AG, a sponsor of the Monaco Grand Prix is seen painted onto the road surface of the Formula One Grand Prix Circuit in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on Tuesday, May 29, 2018. The Monaco Grand Prix is the premier race on the Formula 1 calendar and has been held in one form or another since 1929 and in modern form since 1950. Photographer: Bryn Colton/Bloomberg

Raymond James, an aggressive recruiter of top talent, found itself on the losing side of an advisor move as a $1 billion team bolted for UBS last week.

The three-person group signed on with UBS in Westport, Connecticut, where they report to Market Head Mara Glassel, according to an internal company memo. The group serves university endowments, nonprofit organizations and high-net-worth families, according to the memo.

The team, which operates as RC Wealth Management, generated approximately $2.2 million in annual revenue.

David Rosenthal, Stephen Collins and Daniel Rupp had been with Raymond James since its 2016 acquisition of Deutsche Bank’s private client group, which Raymond James rebranded as Alex. Brown.

Rosenthal and Collins are the team’s veterans with 23 and 24 years of industry experience, respectively, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records. Rupp has been in the business for four years, according to BrokerCheck.

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Billion-dollar teams are voting with their feet. Here’s where they are going.

June 29

The additions help offset some recent advisor exits at UBS. Last week, a former UBS advisor who once oversaw $2 billion in client assets left to join a Connecticut RIA founded by ex-UBS advisors. In early July, a team that oversaw $250 million left to join independent firm Steward Partners in Clearwater, Florida.

The wirehouse’s Americas unit fields 6,410 advisors, as of June 30. That figure, which includes Canada and Latin America, is down from 6,689 for the year-ago period, according to the company’s latest earnings report.

Though the team’s departure represents a big loss for Raymond James, it’s unlikely to put a dent in the firm’s growing headcount, which stood at 8,155 employees and independent advisors for the second quarter. It was up a net 251 over June 2019, according to the company’s most recent earnings report.

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Recruiting Career moves Wirehouses Raymond James Financial UBS
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