A California-based UBS team with about $300 million in managed assets is joining Raymond James’ employee advisor channel.
The advisory team of Jennifer and Steven Hocking (who are married) and Ryan Mueller will operate as THG Retirement Solutions of Raymond James out of Irvine, Calif., along with senior client service associate Jennifer Uy and marketing specialist Karla Castro.
The team focuses on financial planning and wealth management for business owners and individuals nearing (or in the middle of) their retirement. According to Mueller, the team landed on Raymond James because of a “comprehensive suite” of technology tools.
“This move has allowed us to enhance our service model by providing expanded communication channels and offerings for our clients using top-of-the-line technology resources,” he said.
Steven Hocking has more than 20 years in the industry, with 15 years at UBS and prior stints at Merrill Lynch and Farmers Financial Solutions. Jennifer Hocking joined the industry at Toutoa Finacial Services in 2002, moving to UBS in 2015. Mueller joined UBS as an advisor in 2018.
The transition comes shortly after Raymond James announced that Chief Financial Officer Paul Shoukry will succeed Paul Reilly as CEO in its fiscal year 2025, becoming the fourth person to hold the top spot in the company’s history (Shoukry will serve as firm president in the interim).
The succession is one of several intra-company moves in a “multi-year succession planning process,” according to Raymond James. As of Oct. 1, Scott Curtis, president of the firm’s private client group, will take over the role of chief operating officer from Jeff Dowdle, who will become vice chair.
Tash Elwyn, who runs the firm’s employee advisory channel, will take over Curtis’ position. At the same time, Jim Bunn, president of global equities and investment banking, will become president of the capital markets segment.
The firm previously announced that Alex David, former president and CEO of Stifel Financial’s independent contractor b/d, would oversee the firm's Northeast division in its independent advisor channel (succeeding Shannon Reid, who took over as the head of its independent contractor division).
Several teams have moved from the wirehouses to Raymond James since the start of the year, setting up shop in either the firm’s independent or employee channels. In late February, the Florida-based team Anderson McKelvey Group joined from Merrill Lynch, where they managed about $450 million in assets.
Additionally, a duo out of Hanover, N.H. joined Raymond James’ employee channel from Morgan Stanley earlier this month; they managed about $350 million in client assets when making the move. In early February, Andrew Ober, an N.J.-based advisor managing about $165 million in assets, joined its independent channel from UBS.