Advisers shuffle off in Buffalo as firm closes

A small broker-dealer in Buffalo is shutting down next year because its five teams of financial advisers want to find a better fit for their individual businesses. The 13 registered representatives at Harold C. Brown & Co. LLC are splitting up because they decided they were “better off finding a partner with precise tools and resources that each team needed,” said chief executive Katherine Christoferson. The firm's lease on its office space expires in May, and that fact helped prompt the conversation about closing the firm, which would have celebrated its eightieth anniversary in July. “Each team had a slightly different vision of where we wanted to go,” she said. The firm has embraced financial planning, but some teams are more involved in that while others are more focused on investments,” she said. “Also, the type of investment has evolved. We've traditionally used stocks and bonds, but as mutual funds and ETFs have expanded, some teams want to use that.” “It's a very amicable split,” Ms. Christoferson said. She declined to disclose the firm's gross revenue. The firm had assets under management of $2.4 million at the end of last year, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. She added that two teams » are moving to broker-dealers affiliated with Raymond James Financial Inc., while two others are moving to Wells Fargo LLC broker-dealers. One team is moving to RIA roll-up United Capital Financial Advisors LLC.