Richmond Advisors Bring $1.2 Billion in Client Assets to Raymond James

Raymond James has added a Richmond practice with more than $1.2 billion in client assets, strengthening its Mid-Atlantic presence and expanding its employee advisor channel. The move brings veteran wealth managers Sam Mintz and Steve Gow, along with two client service associates, to the firm.

Mintz and Gow joined Raymond James & Associates as managing directors and launched the Mintz & Gow Group in Richmond, Virginia. They previously managed their practice at Truist Investment Services. Courtland Williams, Raymond James & Associates’ Mid-Atlantic regional director, confirmed the move.

The scale of the assets makes the hire significant, while the team’s client base points to the kind of work it expects to continue: serving families, business owners and nonprofit organizations with financial planning and investment guidance for high-net-worth clients. Client service associates Cheryl Franz and Donna Minkeson-Shaw also made the move.

A team built around planning and markets experience

Mintz brings more than 24 years of financial services experience. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER designation. His background centers on planning for clients’ financial priorities.

Gow came to wealth management by way of financial markets operations. Before becoming an advisor in 2014, he spent 12 years overseeing options, retail over-the-counter trading and exchange-traded fund operations at BB&T Scott & Stringfellow, which is now part of Truist Investment Services. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University and an MBA from the College of William & Mary. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Those backgrounds give the practice experience in both client planning and investment markets. For wealthy families and business owners, planning can involve several priorities at once, while markets expertise can inform how portfolios are managed and discussed with clients. The source material doesn’t detail the team’s investment process or how responsibilities will be divided, so the credentials offer a picture of its experience rather than a full account of its approach.

Mintz said the practice begins by understanding what each client wants to accomplish and shaping its work around those priorities. He pointed to Raymond James’ technology and private wealth capabilities as resources for serving high-net-worth clients, while describing the firm’s culture as people-first.

Williams said the firm would support the group’s growth and provide resources for its long-term plans. That support may matter as the team transitions client relationships and practice operations to a new firm. The source did not specify the timing or mechanics of that transition.

Recruiting adds to a growing advisor base

The Richmond team joins Raymond James as the firm reports a record 8,943 advisors at the end of its fiscal year, up 2% year over year. The firm has also indicated that its pipeline of advisor commitments remains healthy heading into the coming year. Advisor count and recruiting activity provide useful context for the hire, though they don’t by themselves show how much new business the team will retain or how quickly it may grow.

The move follows the arrival of a team with $700 million in client assets in Beachwood, Ohio, reported earlier this week. That addition and the Richmond hire show how individual team moves can contribute to a firm’s advisor count and client asset base.

Raymond James has also recruited teams from other large and regional firms. Earlier this year, it brought on teams from Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley whose combined assets exceeded $1 billion. Late last year, it added a $420 million team from Edward Jones in Virginia, adding to its Mid-Atlantic presence.

The Richmond move is part of a broader run of recruiting across firms and channels. For Raymond James, teams can bring established client relationships and operating experience alongside assets. For clients, a change in firm brings a new service platform and set of resources; how that affects individual relationships will depend on the transition and the team’s continuing work.

The $1.2 billion figure makes the addition sizable, but it describes client assets associated with the practice, not revenue or assets newly created for Raymond James. The practical measure to watch is whether the team can carry its relationships through the move and build on them within its new firm. Its combination of planning and markets experience gives the practice a clear professional profile; execution will determine how that profile translates into continued client service and growth.