$3M team quits Merrill Lynch for Raymond James

Raymond James recruited a Merrill Lynch team that oversaw approximately $300 million in client assets, the firm said.

The advisors, the latest to make an exit from a wirehouse, joined the firm's independent broker-dealer arm in Springfield, Missouri. Dana Havens, Ryan Patterson and Delvan Mitchell Jr. generated $3 million in annual revenue while at their previous firm. Client service manager Mary Keyes and client associate Beth Berns moved with them as well.

"Affiliating with a broker-dealer that is first and foremost focused on its wealth management arm was important to us, and the level at which Raymond James supports the advisor-client relationship was a deciding factor," Havens said in a statement.

The group operates as Affinity Wealth Partners and made the move in November, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records.

Havens, an advisor since 1997, had been with Merrill Lynch for 12 years, according to BrokerCheck. He previously worked at Morgan Stanley.

Patterson started his career at Morgan in 2005 while Mitchell began working as an advisor at Merrill Lynch a decade ago, per BrokerCheck.

A spokeswoman for Merrill Lynch could not be reached for immediate comment.

Raymond James has recently announced a number of new hires. Last month, the St. Petersburg, Florida-based firm said it hired another Merrill Lynch team that oversaw $262 million in client assets. That group, led by Glen Smith, joined Raymond James's independent arm in Flower Mound, Texas.

Raymond James also said last month that it hired a Morgan Stanley duo managing $180 million in client assets. John DeRosa and Deanna DeRosa joined an employee branch in Newport Beach, California.