An independent broker-dealer launched only two years ago out of an affiliated RIA has grabbed a fixed-income team from Raymond James’ employee broker-dealer.
Arkadios Capital has grown to more than 55 advisors on track to generate some $13 million in revenue this year, up from $4 million in 2017, according to CEO David Millican. The new group, known as SP Financial Group, consists of a six-analyst team now acting as a one-stop shop for fixed-income services for Arkadios’ advisors.
SP Financial, like Arkadios, has its headquarters in Atlanta, and the team led by partners David Summers and Joseph Patire has about $3.5 billion in bond assets under advisement. The team’s existing RIA clients, which number several dozen outside practice, will continue using their bond services at the team's new IBD, Millican and Summers say.
The team builds out bond ladders and portfolios while also analyzing existing products, taking a portion of the bonds’ spreads as its payment, according to Summers. Moving to the independent side will allow SP Financial to provide a separately managed account platform more easily, he says.
“What we position ourselves for is to be their fixed income desk,” says Summers, comparing it to similar setups at wirehouse firms but not at many independent RIAs. “It is that independence that we are looking for, in order to service our clients in the manner that they have grown accustomed to.”
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Representatives for Raymond James declined to comment on their move.
No deficiencies at Raymond James’ employee BD had prompted their departure, according to Summers. He and Millican had simply realized they share “some really good synergies” after meeting about a year ago, Summers says.
In addition to Summers and Patire, the SP Financial team includes Shane Carpenter, Ross Nelson, Cameron Parkhurst and Michael Belote. The team formally joined Arkadios on Oct. 17, according to FINRA BrokerCheck.
SP Financial’s services will help Arkadios’ niche approach aimed at higher-producing advisors and higher-end clientele, Millican says. The move to Arkadios is “a huge pickup” for the IBD, he adds.
“David, Joe and the team give us an institutional bond desk with a proven, time-tested record,” Millican said in a statement. “Most importantly, our businesses are similar in that we are both focused on client service and growing our businesses.”
