Raymond James nets $640 million J.P. Morgan duo

Raymond James has lured in an ex-J.P. Morgan Securities duo as the firm continues to find success pulling in large-producing brokers from big-name Wall Street banks. The father-son team of Michael and Benjamin Cohen joined Raymond James' employee broker-dealer in Chicago last month after managing $640 million in assets and producing some $4.2 million in revenue at J.P. Morgan Securities. In the past three months, Raymond James has netted advisers who managed a total of upward of $2 billion in assets at their previous firms, mostly from wirehouses, according to moves tracked by InvestmentNews' Advisers on the Move database. (Don't miss: One woman reflects on her experience as part of Raymond James' new program to educate client associates) Last month, the firm also announced that it had brought on two veteran wirehouse managers, Peter Alberding and Warren Wright, of UBS Wealth Management and Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, respectively. In an interview, both Michael and Benjamin Cohen said that they had been looking to join because they were looking for a place with a culture similar to what they had experienced at Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. Michael Cohen had been with Bear Stearns since 1975 and moved to J.P. Morgan Securities after JPMorgan acquired Bear Stearns in 2008. His son joined him at Bear Stearns in 2006 after performing in Broadway shows. “In our search, we really tried to find someplace that could replicate the creative entrepreneurial environment we had,” Michael Cohen said. The two will report to Raymond James' Chicago complex manager, Brian Lampsa.