Concurrent adds ex-Raymond James advisors with $500M

A hybrid registered investment advisory firm that left Raymond James Financial Services last year in one of the channel's largest moves added a newly merged advisory practice from its prior brokerage.

Financial advisors Jeff Breese and Brent Mekosh brought their two practices together in Phoenix and Chandler, Arizona, as The Wealth Stewards, dropping Raymond James in favor of Tampa, Florida-based Concurrent Investment Advisors as their RIA and Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments as their brokerage, Concurrent said May 9. The Wealth Stewards' seven other employees include wealth advisors Denise McGuire, Ryan Remming and Andrew Diozzi, as well as Kayla McNamara, a certified financial planner. The firm has $500 million in client assets.

"From the outset, Concurrent showed us they understood builders," Mekosh said in a statement. "We build wealth for our clients, but we also want to build our own business as independent entrepreneurs."

He and Breese officially left the independent channel of Raymond James — where Mekosh had been since 2007 and Breese had been since 2009 — on April 25, according to FINRA's BrokerCheck. Mekosh is a 25-year veteran advisor, while Breese has 23 years in the industry.

"The relationships Concurrent has in place, the range of support services, and their understanding of what we want to accomplish made them the obvious choice for Brent and me," Breese said in a statement.

Representatives for Raymond James didn't respond to a request for comment on their departure from the firm.

Last year Concurrent, led by CEO Nate Lenz, picked PKS Investments for its brokerage; 76 advisors made that transition with $7 billion in assets under management and another $10 billion in 401(k) assets under advisement at the firm. That move represented the fifth largest recruiting or M&A deal involving independent brokerages in 2023. In 2021, private partnership Merchant Investment Management purchased a minority equity stake in the firm.

Since launching as an independent RIA last May, Concurrent has added another $2 billion in assets, according to the firm, which also hired former executives from Creative Planning, Fidelity Investments, Wealth Enhancement Group and Goldman Sachs in April.

"Jeff and Brent are exactly the caliber of advisor we built Concurrent to support," Lenz said in a statement. "They have taken a major step forward in their professional journey together, and their clients will reap the benefits of their ambition for years to come."