A raft of wealth management firms and advisors have joined the Raymond James organization in recent months.

Raymond James, the wealth management house, continued to add more teams and firms to its network, bringing in Robert J Ellis, Christopher L Van Son, Joe Starinsky, Jr CFA®, AIF, and Julie Barr. The team was previously at LPL Financial. In a separate move (see below), Raymond James hired a former Merrill Lynch advisor in Atlanta, Georgia.

The advisors join Raymond James Financial Services, the firm’s independent broker/dealer outfit. They are based in Orchard Park, New York.

A raft of wealth management firms and advisors have joined the Raymond James organization in recent months, part of a trend of such firms wanting to achieve scale, greater brand awareness and support via a group with a national name. This is something of a paradox: many wealth firms built by breakaway teams from big financial groups have found that they need a partner/larger entity to help with a range of services that are too costly to do in-house.

The team operates as Robert J Ellis Financial Advisors, LLC and joins from LPL Financial, where they previously managed approximately $170 million. (For its part, a run of firms have joined the platforms of LPL Financial in recent months, with announcements coming out almost daily.) 

The Robert J Ellis Financial Advisors team serve clients such as small business owners, individuals and multi-generational families. Joining them at Raymond James are Lacey Dale, senior client service representative, Sarah Foss, registered client service representative, and Paula Valentino, client service representative.

Ellis began his financial services career in 1983 and has worked at many firms, including Merrill Lynch and, most recently, LPL. Van Son, financial advisor with RJFS and president of Robert J Ellis Financial Advisors, has 34 years of financial services experience, beginning at Travelers Equities Sales. Prior to joining Raymond James, he worked as a financial advisor at LPL. 

Starinsky, financial advisor and CFA®, has been in the industry for more than 21 years. He worked as a financial advisor at LPL before joining Raymond James, and before that worked at various firms, including ClearPlan Financial, Prudential and Citigroup. 

Barr is transitioning to the role of financial advisor after 19 years with the team as a senior client service representative, having worked most recently at LPL. 

Raymond James has appointed financial advisor John “Quint” Andrews, CRPS®, CFP®, to join Raymond James & Associates, the firm’s traditional employee broker/dealer.

Based in Atlanta, Andrews joins from Merrill Lynch, where he previously managed more than $110 million. Operating as Andrews Wealth Management of Raymond James, he serves a diverse range of clients, including business owners, corporate executives and other high net worth families and individuals.

Andrews began his financial services career in 2005 at Morgan Stanley. He later worked at Merrill Lynch for more than nine years before transitioning to Raymond James. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he holds a bachelor’s degree in consumer economics with an emphasis in family financial planning. Andrews is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional and a Chartered Retirement Planning SpecialistSM.

Recent senior moves at Raymond James can be seen here. Also, see the latest financial results of the group here.