OnWallStreet spoke to their elite Recruiter Roundtable members to get their reaction to the Raymond James-Morgan Keegan acquisition this week.
Most of them agreed it looked like a good “cultural” fit, but when it came to the retention packages being offered the financial advisors and the discussion as to how many of the 1,000 will “walk” the opinions differed.
Willis Consulting, Inc.’s President and CEO, Bill Willis sits on this financial recruiters roundtable and had this to say:
“Once someone is offered money to stay, it kind of puts them up for bids, and some people are going to say, ‘Gee, that’s great. I’m going to just stay.’ Others are going to say, ‘Well, if I can that to stay, I wonder what I can get to leave. There’s some of that.”
“Some of the top producers, who are in major markets, might find a match at some of the boutique firms, just because the size may appeal if their business is a fit. Others in more medium to smaller markets, are really going to have fewer choices. If you’re in a small town, and if you eliminate the wirehouses, sometimes there’s not much more left.”
“I do believe that culturally I think they have a chance of making this work … Even though Raymond James is national, it maintains a regional flavor, and has a very good reputation for being in the brokerage corner and have a lot of good common sense. I think there’s a pretty good match.”