William Blair hires $3B team to open new office

Building on its previous high-net-worth hires, William Blair recruited a $3 billion team to open a new office.

The seven-member team joined from investment management firm Brown Advisory and is based in Baltimore, according to their new employer. The group consists of advisors Perry Bacon, Darcy Carroll, Robert Hopkins, Robert Oster, Hunter Purcell, Philip Rauch, Mitchell Whiteman and Jennifer Viglucci.

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The following 17 teams oversaw about $75 billion in assets. The firms ending the year with prize recruits include a diverse cast: regional BDs, wirehouses, boutiques and RIAs.

By Andrew Welsch

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The advisors made the move in part because of the company culture and resources. “In William Blair we find an independent, 84-year-old partnership that shares our focus of putting clients first and giving back to the community,” Hopkins said in a statement.

Roy Cox

The team is mostly comprised of industry veterans. Whiteman has the least experience with 17 years in the business while Oster has the most at 46 years, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records.

William Blair has more than $33 billion in private wealth assets, according to the Chicago-based company. In the last four years, the firm has added new offices in five cities by recruiting advisors with large books of business. Many of these recruits have come from larger wirehouse competitors, such as a $300 million team that left Wells Fargo to join William Blair in October.

A spokesman for Brown Advisory confirmed their departure.