By Kenneth Corbin
Raymond James Financial has recruited a 24-person team overseeing $2.8 billion in client assets from Commonwealth Financial Network. Financial Strategies Retirement Partners, based in Bedford, N.H., joined Raymond James Financial Services, the company's independent advisory channel, earlier this month, Raymond James announced on Thursday.
The team, which includes 12 advisors, is led by CEO and Managing Partner Shawn Monty, as well as Partners Al Gilbert and Sarah Kenda.
LPL Financial, which acquired Commonwealth last year and has been working to keep its advisory teams on its platform, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the departure or its broader efforts to retain Commonwealth teams. LPL set a goal of retaining 90% of the roughly $285 billion in assets that Commonwealth held at the time of the acquisition, though. Commonwealth had about 2,900 advisors at the time, but a report earlier this year found that 22.5% had left following the acquisition.
LPL continues to be an active recruiter. On Wednesday, the company announced that it had brought on Soundview Wealth Management, a Seattle team that had overseen $600 million in assets at D.A. Davidson, which didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Soundview, led by advisors Michael Stevenson, David Johnson, and Nikko Gronhovd, joined LPL's broker-dealer and registered investment advisory platform.
Raymond James has been among the most active recruiters of Commonwealth advisors. Indeed, the report that pegged LPL's advisor retention rate at 77.5% said that through the end of 2025, more advisors had joined Raymond James than any other firm.
The freshly recruited New Hampshire team has substantial retail and institutional business. At Commonwealth, the team managed about $1 billion in private wealth assets and advised on $1.8 billion in employer-sponsored retirement plan assets, Raymond James says.
Monty, a 40-year industry veteran, says the move marks an "exciting new chapter" for his team and their clients. "We were looking for a partner that supports independence, innovation, and long-term growth while enabling us to continue delivering the personalized guidance our clients expect," he says.
Gilbert and Kendra also have lengthy resumes. Gilbert, who co-founded Financial Strategies Retirement Partners with Monty in 2007, broke into the industry in 1987. Kenda first registered as a broker in 2002, according to the online database BrokerCheck.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 29, 2026 14:47 ET (18:47 GMT)
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