Raymond James Coddles Ex-Wirehouse FAs
October 23, 2014 By Chris Latham, Financial Advisor IQ Wirehouse advisors looking to break away don’t always get to chat face-to-face with both the chairman and the COO of the new firm they’re thinking of joining. Yet such a conversation was what swayed Thomas Dedrick to sign on with Raymond James & Associates from Merrill Lynch last February. “When I walked out of that meeting, I knew this was the place I wanted to be,” says the Tuscaloosa, Ala., advisor, whose two-person team made the move with him. “It reminded me a lot of how Merrill was when I started with them back in 1982.” Dedrick’s path exemplifies how Raymond James woos wirehouse breakaways and makes them comfy once they set up shop. Executives at the company’s employee channel say the firm’s massive resources and personal feel — two attributes that don’t always...