Why Stifel Exec Alex David Jumped to Raymond James

Veteran industry executive Alex David’s surprise move this week to join Raymond James from rival broker-dealer Stifel Financial was sparked — as many big career moves often are — by a relationship cultivated over time. 

On Monday, David had left his post as president and CEO of Stifel’s independent contractor channel to become head of this group for Raymond James in the Northeast. He’d been in the position at Stifel for three years, after spending over 12 years at Wells Fargo Advisors. 

The opening for David’s new role came late last year, Shannon Reid — who formerly held this post — became president of the firm’s nationwide Independent Contractor Division. By this time, David said, he was already well acquainted with his future employer. 

Raymond James had 4,992 independent advisors and a total advisor headcount of 8,710 as of Dec. 31, while Stifel’s had 108 indie advisors and a total advisor headcount of 3,386.

“I’ve always been a fan of the work Raymond James does around the independent advisors model,” the executive explained in an email, adding that he’s worked with Jodi Perry — Raymond James’ head of advisor recruiting — on the board of the Financial Services Institute. “In addition, we’ve sat on a number of industry panels together,” he said. 

David, who now reports to Reid, will oversee all independent advisors in Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia, according to a spokesperson for Raymond James.