Raymond James Recap February 2024

2024 is off to a strong start and I am thrilled to recap recent leadership changes, enhanced advisor capabilities, and highlight a few of our remarkable joins.

Raymond James continues to grow in the ranks of stellar advisors both on a national and international scale. Key highlights of our recruitment success are the caliber, strength and expertise of the financial advisors and talented individuals who have chosen to join the firm. Their decision to align their practices with Raymond James speaks volumes about the strength and values of our organization and reaffirms our position as a leader in the industry.

With a steadfast commitment to excellence and innovation, I am confident we will continue charting new heights as we redefine the boundaries of success.

Firm Happenings

We are excited to announce 30-year Raymond James veteran Jodi Perry has taken on a new role as national head of advisor recruiting. From her long tenure, Jodi has extensive knowledge of the recruiting landscape and will continue to strengthen this key growth initiative for Raymond James. In recognition of her success in leading and guiding key decisions for the firm, Jodi recently received the ThinkAdvisor Executive Leadership Luminary Award*.

As a part of this change and reflecting the firm’s commitment to strategic succession planning, current Senior Vice President and Northeast Division Director Shannon Reid has succeeded Jodi as president of our Independent Contractors Division.

In order to support divisional realignment and long-term growth, we recently announced changes in our employee channel leadership. The formerly four RJA divisions will be consolidated into three divisions: Eastern led by Tom Walrond, Central under Patrick O’Connor and Western supported by Bert White.

We’re pleased to announce Raymond James recently launched its enhanced Independence Plus offering. Led by Steve Voss, CPA and vice president of Independent Business Consulting, Independence Plus offers advisors the support of an experienced consultants to provide expert counsel and white-glove service on their path to Independence.

This week the firm’s independent channel, RJFS, launched is news Paraplanning Services to help advisors grow their business by further incorporating financial planning into their practice. According to Lindsay Noah, director of Paraplanning, “Paraplanning Services creates capacity for advisors to focus on holistic financial planning for their clients at various phases of their business. Transitioning advisors can take advantage of the hourly option to seamlessly move current financial plans from their previous system, for example.”

Recent Joins

It’s been a fantastic few months of growth, with many new practices opening their doors at Raymond James.

Starting on November 2, we welcomed financial advisor Brian Chappell, AIF?, CRPS? to RJFS. He is president of Speedwell Capital Group, and brings with him $140 million in AUM.

Soon after on November 15, advisor duo Kevin Okim, CFP?, and Deborah Okim, CFP, joined RJFS in Virginia. The husband-and-wife team manages a combined $260 million.

Moving out West to Texas, RJFS welcomed advisor Cole Wilson on November 28. His practice, Decker Capital Partners, manages $170 million.

Closing out the month on November 30 was the addition of a nearly $200 million practice out of California. Advisor Jeffrey D. Olsen, CRPC?, chose to affiliate with RJA.

December kicked off with an impressive $360 million practice joining RJA in South Florida. Advisor team Pam Mitchell, CFP?, MBA, and Vijay Baxter teamed up to form Mitchell Financial Planning of Raymond James in Naples on December 5.

Only a few hours away in Winter Haven, Florida, on December 14, RJFS welcomed advisor Michael Kennedy. The founder of Horizon Wealth Planning, he manages $100 million in assets.

Heading on up to Durham, North Carolina, advisor Sheridan O’Connor, CFP? joined RJFS on December 18, also with $100 million in AUM. He leads O’Connor Wealth Group.

To close out the year on December 19 in a big way, RJA’s newest practice brings $340 million from Colorado. Advisors Keith Bryant, Christopher “Chris” Bryant and Carissa Henderson are a father-son-daughter trio operating Bryant Wealth Management of Raymond James.

Starting the new year strong, we welcomed Texas advisor, Frank Durrum of Durrum Wealth Management to the firm’s independent channel with $160 million in client assets.

Last but not least, to further expand our growing presence in the Northeast, Andrew Ober, director partner of 1792 Wealth Advisors based in Neptune, NJ, joined the firm’s independent channel with $165 million in assets.

?2024 Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC. ?2024 Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member?FINRA/SIPC.? Investment products are: not deposits, not FDIC/NCUA insured, not insured by any government agency, not bank guaranteed, subject to risk and may lose value. Raymond James? is a registered trademark of Raymond James Financial, Inc.

*The ThinkAdvisor Luminaries awards aim to celebrate the achievements of advisors, industry executives, teams, RIAs, broker-dealers, asset managers and other firms by showcasing their achievements in four key areas, including Diversity amp; Inclusion, Thought Leadership, Executive Leadership and Dealmaking/Growth. Members of the Class of 2023 LUMINARIES were selected by a diverse panel of judges from across the advice industry, and the ThinkAdvisor editorial team. This is based upon the period from 01/01/2022 to 04/01/2023 and was released on 11/28/2023. Out of several hundred participants and nominations, the winners represent individuals, companies and executives from 150 firms. For the Executive Leadership award, the judges looked for a clear demonstration of results and innovation in a key area or areas. This includes overall business growth, starting new segments or channels, Mamp;A work, innovative hiring of managerial talent, general advisor recruiting, retirement, financial planning, practice management, client education, behavioral finance, compliance, etc. The ranking may not be representative of any one clients experience, is not an endorsement, and is not indicative of advisors future performance. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisers pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. ThinkAdvisor and ALM Media Properties, LLC are not affiliated with Raymond James.