Advisors with $215M quit D.A. Davidson, Raymond James to join Kestra

Kestra Financial’s hybrid RIA subsidiary added two advisors from D.A. Davidson and Raymond James as the firm’s new assets from recruiting in the past 13 months reached $565 million.

Advisor Ed Klein left D.A. Davidson to launch an independent practice with Kestra Private Wealth Services, while Graham Pearce bolted Raymond James’ indie channel for an affiliated firm of Kestra PWS. The two advisors manage $215 million in combined client assets.

The San Diego-based firm says it expanded its platform through recruiting by nearly $350 million in assets in 2017, as the independent movement continues apace. In October, for example, a breakaway Morgan Stanley team with $150 million in client assets opened a new practice with Kestra PWS.

“Kestra PWS remains a premier destination of choice for former wirehouse advisors looking for a path to independence, a reputation that helped us attract both Ed and Graham to our firm,” CEO Rob Bartenstein said in a statement.

Klein, who has $165 million in assets under management, formally aligned with Kestra PWS on Jan. 31 after 20 years at D.A. Davidson and 13 at Piper Jaffray, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. He opened Harbor Investment Advisors in Aberdeen, Washington, which is about 100 miles southeast of Seattle.

“Going independent with the support of Kestra PWS empowers my firm to focus on my top priority of providing clients with the appropriate financial advice at a competitive price point,” Klein said in a statement.

D.A. Davidson declined to comment on his departure.

Pearce, who has $50 million in assets, had worked seven years at Raymond James Financial Services following tenures at Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. He joined the San Diego-based practice Stone Beacon Capital on Jan. 16 as its CIO.

• Ameriprise
• Raymond James Financial
• Regional BDs
• Janney
• Recruiting
• Wirehouse advisors
• BNY
• RIAs
• Going independent
• Hightower
• Wells Fargo
• Career moves
• Morgan Stanley
• RBC
• LPL Financial
• Steward Partners
• Merrill Lynch
• Stifel Financial

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“It is clear Kestra PWS and Stone Beacon Capital share my vision for putting investor interests first, and I look forward to putting the available resources to work for the benefit of my clients,” Pearce said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for Raymond James confirmed his departure but declined further comment.

Pearce’s new practice came to Kestra PWS last January, kicking off a year that Bartenstein later described as “an explosive period of growth.” Six teams with 10 advisors committed to affiliating with the firm in the fall, which Bartenstein said was a record in the firm’s seven-year history.

Kestra PWS, a onetime LPL Financial affiliate formerly known as Washington Wealth Management, has 13 offices, 34 advisors and $1.8 billion in brokerage and advisory assets. Its parent, Austin, Texas-based Kestra, constitutes the 13th largest independent broker-dealer.