A Texas-based adviser managing more than $1.3 billion in assets is joining Raymond James from Merrill Lynch, the second $1 billion team to leave the house for Raymond James this week.
Melinda Johnston is based in Fort Worth, Texas, and will join Raymond James' employee advisor channel, designed to break out of the network.
Practice manager Kristin Stanley, investment portfolio associate Nick Olivarri and senior client service associate Judy Frank will also join her to form Raymond James' M2J Wealth Management Group. They will work with business owners, corporate executives, family offices and individual clients from Raymond James' Fort Worth branch.
Johnston has more than 40 years of industry experience, starting at Prudential in 1984. In 1995, she joined UBS and stayed for 21 years before moving to Merrill Lynch eight years ago. In a statement about the deal, Johnston said working with Raymond James will allow the team to grow its practice in a “way that aligns with our long-term goals.”
Johnston's move comes just days after Raymond James recruited a team of five consultants based in Williamsville, NY managing more than $1 billion in assets in their employee advisor channel from Merrill.
The team is led by advisors Christopher Scott, Kevin Klein, Michael Gates and Salvatore Gandolfo, with support from financial advisor Jeffrey Baker and client relationship associates Alicia Birch, Jaclyn Greiner, Christina Ivancic and Elia Criola. Scott and Klein spent more than 20 years on the wire; Gates and Gandolfo joined Merrill about 14 years ago.
The firm announced at the beginning of this year that the current CFO Paul Shoukry will succeed CEO Paul Reilly as head of the company, part of a “multi-year succession planning process.”
Firm too promoted Tom Walrond to lead Raymond James & Associates, the firm's employee advisor channel, succeeding Tash Elwyn, who was named president of Raymond James' Private Client Group.