Merrill team with $2.9 billion joins Raymond James

A team of New York financial advisers with $2.9 billion in client assets left Merrill Lynch to join Raymond James & Associates on Monday, marking the brokerage's greatest recruiting coup to date. The five partners include Chris and Kevin Mahoney, who are brothers, Mark Marotta, Kristen Koluch and Phil Murphy. They and seven other employees are now the Mahoney Group of Raymond James and will operate from a new office in West Nyack, N.Y. Before this move, Raymond James' largest recruit was the $2.4 billion Americas Group, which left Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in June. In December, the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based firm also brought over a $900 million group from J.P. Morgan Securities. “Leaving a firm where I had the opportunity to build and lead a successful team was bittersweet,” said Chris Mahoney, managing director. “But we have a long-established value proposition that our clients have come to expect and that we believe can be delivered partnering with Raymond James.” (More: See who else has left Merrill Lynch) Before this move, Mr. Mahoney's entire career had been with Merrill Lynch, which he joined in 1982. Mr. Mahoney said he began contemplating a move five years ago when the 2008 economic recession led to Bank of America taking over the wirehouse. He expected there would be operational changes. “As we went on, the environment in which we worked became more bureaucratic, top-down and less flexible at a time the marketplace is demanding more flexibility,” he said. “This was the time for us to go.” Tom Galvin, North Atlantic regional director for Raymond James, said his firm has reallocated its transition management department to assign up to four full-time people to help integrate Mr. Mahoney’s team. That department typically handles 350 to 400 smaller transitions a year.