# Janney opens Houston office with four ex-Raymond James advisors

URL: https://www.financialadvsr.com/article/janney-opens-houston-office-with-four-ex-raymond-james-3347cc
Published: October 16, 2026
By: Grant Whitmore, Moves Correspondent
Section: Moves
Publisher: Financial ADVSR (https://www.financialadvsr.com)

Janney opened a Houston office with four advisors previously affiliated with Raymond James, who manage nearly $3.5 billion in client assets according to the firm.

WealthManagement.com reported on October 16, 2026 that Janney Montgomery Scott has added a team of Houston-based advisors departing Raymond James. According to Janney's own announcement, distributed through GlobeNewswire the same day, the firm opened a Houston office with four Financial Advisors who manage nearly $3.5 billion in client assets. The announcement presents that figure as a measure of client assets.

The four advisors are split between two groups. The Edwards Fitzpatrick Group is led by Sean Fitzpatrick and James Edwards, known as Jim, and Christin Simon and Allison Spinelli joined Fitzpatrick and Edwards as part of that group. WealthManagement.com, citing BrokerCheck and the announcement, reported that the group had been with Raymond James for about 23 years and had amassed $3.3 billion in client assets under management. Lance Murphy also moved to Janney in Houston but is not part of the group. According to the announcement, he managed $200 million.

Background on the individuals is limited. The Janney release says Sean Fitzpatrick began his career with Raymond James in 2002 and is a Houston native. FA Magazine, citing BrokerCheck, reported that Murphy has been in the industry since 1995 and joined Raymond James in 2022. The sources reviewed do not describe the terms of the move or any agreements tied to it.

Janney's Houston office is the latest step in a Texas push that began in 2025. AdvisorHub reported that Janney opened its first Texas office in Dallas that year with the addition of a team managing $200 million in assets. Janney's November 2025 announcement said the Dallas opening came alongside the addition of West Haven Private Wealth and that the firm would focus on Austin, Fort Worth and Houston. Pulse2 reported that West Haven joined from RBC and brought more than $200 million in client assets, while FA Magazine described the same team as two Dallas advisors from RBC Capital Markets.

WealthManagement.com reports that Janney has about 900 financial advisors and nearly $200 billion in assets under advisement. That is a different measure from regulatory assets under management, and the sources do not give a regulatory AUM figure that can be verified. The firm describes itself as a wealth management firm with a history of nearly 200 years. Janney is headquartered in Philadelphia and is organized as a limited liability company under Delaware law, according to the advisorfacts profile. Its stockholder is KKR June Purchaser, LLC, a special purpose vehicle indirectly controlled by funds advised by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. AdvisorHub also reports that Janney is owned by KKR.

AdvisorHub also reported that Janney recruited another Raymond James team managing $300 million in Miami in July. InvestmentNews reported that a five-person Raymond James team with $470 million in assets moved to Janney in Maryland in 2025, and that Janney recruited 27 advisors overseeing $4.3 billion in 2024.

Raymond James Financial, Inc. is a diversified financial services company with private client group, capital markets, asset management and banking operations. It is listed on the NYSE under the symbol RJF. A February 2026 8-K filing datelined the company in St. Petersburg, Florida. According to a May 2026 operating data release cited by an SEC filing summary, Paul Shoukry is the chief executive. The company reported client assets under administration of $1,966.4 billion as of August 2026. Sources conflict on the year-over-year growth rate, with a TradingView headline putting it at 30%, and financial assets under management of $350.5 billion as of August 31, 2026. Advisor counts vary by source: WealthManagement.com cites about 8,900 advisors, while a Motley Fool analysis says Raymond James ended the first quarter of 2026 with 9,076 financial advisors.

Kevin Reed, President of Janney's Private Client Group, called Houston and the wider Texas region a market the firm views as promising. Frank Amigo, Gulf Regional Director, said Janney sees significant opportunity to keep attracting experienced advisors across Texas. The announcement does not describe further Houston hires, so the next step for the office is not yet defined in the sources reviewed.

For advisors and team leaders, the move shows how a large team with a long Raymond James history can change firms as a regional office is built out. For recruiters and firm executives, the combination of a local hiring base and a team-level book of client assets is the kind of deal that shapes competition in a major metro. The figures in the sources also show why it matters to separate team assets from total firm assets when comparing recruiting results.

Key facts:
- Four Financial Advisors joined Janney's new Houston office, managing nearly $3.5 billion in client assets, according to the firm's announcement.
- The Edwards Fitzpatrick Group managed $3.3 billion in client assets under management, according to WealthManagement.com citing BrokerCheck and the announcement.
- According to the firm's announcement, Lance Murphy managed $200 million in assets.
- Janney reports about 900 financial advisors and nearly $200 billion in assets under advisement, according to WealthManagement.com.
- Raymond James reported financial assets under management of $350.5 billion as of August 31, 2026.

Why it matters: Team moves that bring in a block of client assets are closely watched by recruiters and firm leaders because they can shift regional market share quickly. Advisors weighing a move will want to compare team-level figures with firm-level measures such as assets under advisement and regulatory AUM, which can differ substantially.

Sources:
- WealthManagement.com: https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ibd-news/janney-launches-3-5b-houston-based-team-made-of-raymond-james-advisors
- AdvisorHub: https://www.advisorhub.com/janney-plants-flag-in-houston-with-3-3-billion-raymond-james-team/
- fa-mag.com: https://www.fa-mag.com/news/janney-opens-houston-office--picks-up--3-5b-in-raymond-james-recruits-88854.html
- globenewswire.com: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/16/3382696/0/en/janney-opens-houston-office-with-four-financial-advisors-as-firm-continues-growth-in-texas.html
- investmentnews.com: https://www.investmentnews.com/independent-broker-dealers/five-person-raymond-james-team-jumps-to-janney-in-maryland/261197
- janney.com: https://www.janney.com/meet-janney/corporate-news/all-news/detail/corporate-news/2025/11/10/janney-expands-into-texas-with-opening-of-dallas-office-and-addition-of-west-haven-private-wealth