Orange County’s financial advisory firms added registered representatives locally at a tepid but consistent pace during the past year.
But the 20 firms on this week’s Business Journal list collectively also cut overall employment by 2%. That was an about-face from a 27% increase in overall employment shown on last year’s list.
The firms employed a combined 1,641 brokers as of September, 1% more than a year earlier. It was a third-straight annual uptick, with another 1% increase a year earlier and a 2% gain two years back.
So there seems to be clear evidence of an industry comeback after the economic crisis put a crimp in hiring: The 2009 Business Journal list showed an 11% cut of registered brokers in OC.
This week’s list includes OC’s investment banks, financial services firms and local advisory arms of national banks. It ranks companies by the size of registered representatives here.
Nine companies added registered brokers during the year while five made cuts. Two firms reported no change, and numbers for four firms were based on Business Journal estimates.
The top three rankings were unchanged from a year earlier. The number of registered representatives at the three companies made up more than 60% of the total headcount for the list.
The Newport Beach office of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. topped the list again. It added 24 brokers here during the past year for a total of 483.
New York-based Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC had 260 representatives in Irvine, good for the No. 2 spot. The total represents a 4% decrease from last year, following a 10% drop the previous year.
The local total for Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Merrill Lynch—which has been closely following Morgan Stanley in broker headcount—was one short this year, at 259. Merrill Lynch, which counts nearly 100 offices here, including Laguna Hills and Newport Beach, added eight brokers in the past year.
No. 4 Centaurus Financial Inc. in Anaheim had the largest percentage growth among the firms listed. It has added 12 new representatives over the year, reflecting an increase of 13% for a total of 104. The gains pushed the company up one spot.
Local offices of UBS Financial Services Inc. had a 10% increase to 95 representatives, moving up one spot to No. 5.
“Our OC complex, which includes branches in Newport Beach Fashion Island and the Irvine Spectrum, is one of the strongest businesses we have in terms of hiring experienced financial advisers, in terms of the net new assets and in terms of revenue growth,” said Randall Grossblatt, UBS’ southwest regional director for the firm’s U.S. wealth management group. “We will have continued reasonable growth. We’re not looking to go out and hire 100 people. We want to hire a handful of people in OC who can be acclimated into our business.”
Among the companies that saw declines was the Mission Viejo office of San Francisco-based online trading platform Charles Schwab & Co. It now has 34 representatives, down 35% from a year ago.
No. 16 Los Angeles-based Wedbush Securities shrank its Newport Beach shop, cutting a third of its brokers to 12.
The list also reflects overall employment among OC financial advisory firms. The companies collectively cut 237 workers during the past year.
Employment as of September totaled 11,840. Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch didn’t provide figures for overall OC employees this year, and the Business Journal estimated the total to be unchanged from last year’s reported 6,500.
Top of List
Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo, which laid off about 220 workers, are the two largest employers on the list, accounting for about 90% of the total of employees at the firms on the list.
Seven other firms saw their local offices cut jobs.
No. 6 Newport Beach-based Roth Capital Partners LLC in Newport Beach had 119 employees in September, a dip of six.
Finance 500 Inc. in Irvine cut overall employment by 8% to 67 workers. That total includes 48 registered brokers, down 11% from a year earlier, which placed the company at No. 9 on the list.
Six Boost Staff
No. 17 Burnham Gibson Financial Group Inc. in Irvine was among the six firms that reported overall employment gains. The company more than doubled its total work force here as it added 13 employees overall, including one registered broker, to 24.
“Burnham Gibson is immersed in evolving regulatory environments, and its consultants are committed to taking an active role in helping clients navigate the related issues,” said Darin Gibson, owner and president. “We continue to look for talented advisers to grow the firm and plan to expand its wealth management and pension consulting practices. Additional plans for 2013 include growing the firm’s San Diego branch and building out a new office in Los Angeles.”
No. 20 Pence Wealth Management in Newport Beach has hired five workers over the past 12 months to total 13, while keeping its registered broker total the same at three.
The firms featured on the list combined to show little change in the number of firmwide offices, which totaled 21,138 as of last month. But their OC presence grew 4%, as the companies together gained 13 offices for a total of 356.
More Offices
Wells Fargo added 16 offices here. It now has 120 locations, more than any other company. Merrill Lynch has 94 offices in OC.
St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Raymond James Financial Services Inc., which ranked No. 7 on the list, has added two offices in Orange County to total 25, as part of an expansion that increased the number of firmwide offices by 100 to 2,475.
The growth is part of the firm’s initiative to open more “independent platforms,” said Matthew DeWeese, branch manager at the San Juan Capistrano office.
“While wire house platforms are still very big and viable, you’re finding that the trend through the brokerage industry is toward independent alternatives with experienced representatives,” DeWeese said. “As a firm, that is the sweet spot that Raymond James wants to be in. Many times it’s not a planned advantage, but it has become one [after the] recession. We’re in the position to capitalize on all the turmoil in the aftermath of the recession.”
