Raymond James and Beacon Pointe Advisors announced significant acquisitions. Raymond James lured a team totaling nearly $1 billion from Merrill Lynch, while Beacon Pointe Advisors added two advisory teams totaling $613 million in client assets.
According to Raymond James, advisors Adam Ours, John Koch and Padma Jambunath are joining the firm’s employee advisor channel designed for wirehouse breakaways from Merrill, where they managed about $995 million in client assets.
The team will be based in Cleveland and includes senior client relationship manager Jeffrey Danzinger, senior registered client relationship associate Sasha Delic-Milanovic and senior client service associate Betsy Margolin.
Ours has more than 20 years of experience, beginning his career at Northwestern Mutual Investments before moving to Merrill for 18 years; among other credentials, he holds the Sports & Entertainment Accredited Wealth Management Advisor designation.
Jambunath was born and raised in India and worked in Asia and Europe before moving to the United States in 2009. According to SEC records, she worked at Morgan Stanley before registering with Merrill in 2017.
Koch entered the industry in 1993 at Lehman Brothers in San Francisco and spent more than 15 years at Merrill Lynch, based in Cleveland. During that time, he was a sales manager, office director, advisor and senior vice president, working with clients on asset allocation and alternative investments, among other specialties. In a statement about the deal, Koch praised Raymond James’ research, technology platforms and investment options.
“At Raymond James, we have found a balance of size, scale and a deep focus on relationships that elevates our ability to serve clients,” Koch said.
In October, Raymond James lured two teams from Merrill Lynch, each totaling more than $1 billion in managed assets. The firm recruited a Williamsville, N.Y.-based team of five advisors managing over $1 billion to its employee advisor channel, and one week later, a Texas-based team overseeing $1.3 billion made the same jump.
The firm announced earlier this year that current CFO Paul Shoukry will succeed CEO Paul Reilly as head of the company on Feb. 20, 2025, part of a broader “multi-year succession planning process.” The firm also promoted Tom Walrond to lead Raymond James & Associates, the firm’s employee advisor channel.
Beacon Pointe Makes Moves in Dallas, Boston
In separate news, Beacon Pointe’s additions in Dallas and Boston boost the firm’s assets under advisement to approximately $40 billion.
Artemis Financial Advisors is a Boston-based fee-only wealth team with $350 million in AUM, while the $263 million WhiteRock Management is a family-owned team and is Beacon Pointe’s seventh Texas acquisition (and Beacon Pointe’s seventh acquisition nationwide this year).
CEO Leigh Bivings founded Artemis during the 2008 financial crisis. According to the firm’s site, it has four staff members and works with about 70 clients, many of whom are financially independent women, including retirees, affluent women, physicians and young professionals.
According to Beacon Pointe President Matt Cooper, the firm (one of the country’s most prominent female-founded RIAs) now has women leading markets, including Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, Orlando and Southern California. Artemis will work with Beacon Pointe’s other Boston-based office in Waltham to serve clients in the city and throughout New England.
WhiteRock is led by President and CIO David Gurun and four staff members. It works with clients on investment management and tax, estate and retirement planning. Beacon Pointe CEO and founder Shannon Eusey said the firm adds to the “density of the booming Dallas-Fort Worth marketplace that continues to be a key area of growth for Beacon Pointe.”
In October, the Southern California-based Beacon Pointe acquired Landmark Wealth Management Group, a $1 billion RIA with offices in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California. Landmark was founded in 1977 and was led by partners John Underwood, Gary Tangwall and Todd Gillingham, and included 33 other team members.
Beacon Pointe has more than 580 employees in 64 offices nationwide. Earlier this month, the firm announced it had hired former Osaic chief financial officer Jon Frojen as its new CFO. Frojen replaced John Gray, who had moved into the chief accounting role at Beacon Pointe.
In 2021, the firm sold a stake in its business to the private equity firm KKR.
