Ladenburg grabs two managers from Ameriprise

Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. of Miami continued its expansion into the independent-contractor broker-dealer marketplace last month by snagging two managers from Ameriprise Financial Inc. of Minneapolis.

In a surprising marketing and sales twist, the two managers plan to shun the investors of the baby boomer generation, which the financial services industry today recognizes as the sweet spot for brokers and advisers.

Instead, the team, Ted Jenkin and Kile Lewis, have recently started a firm that caters to investors far from retirement, who range in age from 25 to 45 years old.

“The rest of the industry is focused on baby boomers,” said Mr. Jenkin, who at 39, and like his partner, fits the demographic. “This is a different segment of the marketplace from Ameriprise.”

Ameriprise focuses on investors it deems “mass affluent,” meaning people with at least $100,000 to invest.

To reinforce its marketing message, the new firm is called oXYGen Financial Inc., and is based in Alpharetta, Ga. Mr. Jenkin and Mr. Lewis left Ameriprise on Aug. 28. Their new firm is affiliated with Investacorp, an independent broker-dealer based in Miami Lakes, Fla., that is a subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann.

The payoff for Mr. Jenkin and Mr. Lewis will most likely take some time, noted one industry analyst.

Bypassing the baby boomers “is an extremely long-term strategy for a firm,” said Guy Manuel, managing director with The CBM Group Inc. of New York, a financial services consulting firm.

But, there is potential to make money by working with investors who are 35 to 45 years old, while building up potentially lucrative relationships with investors in their 20s and early 30s, he said.

“Financial institutions have always tried to build and cement relationships with younger people,” Mr. Manuel said. The question is whether a firm such as oXYGen Financial has enough products and services for their target market to truly be different, he said.

He added: “Baby boomers are way overserved and overmarketed.”

Mr. Jenkin and Mr. Lewis had a combined 30 years of experience with Ameriprise, formerly American Express Financial Advisors of Minneapolis.

Both had deep roots into the Ameriprise branch system.

Mr. Jenkin was a group vice president with Ameriprise, where he led more than 700 reps and advisers.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lewis was a field vice president and managed offices in Ohio, Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Ladenburg Thalmann has been on an acquisition tear in the past year, expanding both its independent broker-dealer network and its investment-banking platform.

Last fall, Ladenburg entered the independent market by acquiring Investacorp.

Last month, it completed its acquisition of Triad Advisors Inc. of Norcross, Ga.

And in May, Ladenburg completed its purchase of Punk Ziegel & Co. LP, a specialty investment bank based in New York.

Mr. Jenkin declined to comment about any non-compete agreement with Ameriprise.

He also declined to comment on whether he and Mr. Lewis had received a signing bonus to join Ladenburg.

For the quarter that ended in June, Ladenburg Thalmann reported a 36.2% increase in revenue, to $25.2 million.

The firm, however, said it lost $5.1 million for the quarter. Last year, it reported a net profit of $111,000 in the same period.

E-mail Bruce Kelly at [email protected].