Advisers and clients slammed by Hurricane Ian

Financial advisers and their clients in Florida were emerging Thursday morning from the floods and violence of Hurricane Ian, one of the worst storms in history to hit the United States.

Full of retirees looking for sunshine and low state taxes, Florida is densely populated with financial advisers, many of whom moved there to follow their clients. But this week's storm will undoubtedly alter lives in the short and long term.

Floating cars and submerged buildings were the norm across Florida's southwest coast Wednesday during the height of the hurricane, which on Thursday morning had been downgraded to a tropical storm. Its center is expected to move off the east-central coast of Florida later Thursday before approaching the coast of South Carolina on Friday, according to news reports.

More than 2.5 million customers were without power across Florida, according to reports this morning. President Biden declared the storm a major disaster, ordering federal aid to help with recovery.

"You’re looking at a storm that has changed the character of a significant part of our state," Gov. Ron DeSantis said, according to the New York Times. He predicted that rebuilding could take years.

Hardest hit by the devastating storm were parts of the Sunshine State's southwest coast, particularly the Fort Myers area. The headquarters of Raymond James Financial Inc., a major brokerage with more than 8,000 registered reps and financial advisers, is based in St. Petersburg, about 110 miles northwest of Fort Myers.

Raymond James said Tuesday that its home office in St. Petersburg would be closed Wednesday and Thursday in preparation for Hurricane Ian and to ensure the safety of its staff.

"We've enacted our business continuity and evacuation plans to ensure support for critical operations from our Memphis, Southfield, Mich. and Denver facilities," the company said in a statement.

"I was on the phone last night with [Florida] west coast clients as well as advisers, one in Naples," said Frank Congemi, a financial adviser with BEAM Wealth Advisors Inc. who's based on Florida's east coast in Lighthouse Point, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. "He said in Naples the water was waist-high. My clients in Tampa got a lot of wind and rain."

"My clients had roofs ripped away, and they couldn't go out even to walk the dog because it could have been blown away," Congemi said. "In some spots, the winds were 140 to 150 miles per hour."

Dennis Nolte, a senior vice president at Seacoast Investment Services, the wealth management business of Seacoast Bank, said his office in Winter Park, Florida, was closed Wednesday and Thursday as the town deals with extensive flooding. The bank and its broker-dealer, LPL Financial, have helped ensure the business can continue operating through the storm, he said.

“Covid was a positive thing in one way: It got us used to working from home,” Nolte said. “As long as there’s an internet connection, we’re live.”

While storm damage in the area has been minimal, some people are now being evacuated in response to the rising water level of nearby lakes, Nolte said. Many of his clients are either employed or formerly employed by the Orlando tourism industry, which has been shut down, and live in areas struggling with flooding.

“Those are the folks I’m most concerned about,” Nolte said. “I haven’t heard from them. I’ve texted them, attempted to check in. We’re just going to keep our fingers crossed and keep praying for them.”

Jon Ulin, CEO of Ulin & Co. Wealth Management, said his office in Boca Raton was spared by Hurricane Ian, but his firm, Independent Financial Partners in Tampa Bay, has closed and evacuated. Employees are still working virtually and have been in communication with advisers, Ulin said.

Independent Financial Partners has not responded to requests for a comment.