2024 Spurs Regime Change in the Wealth Management 

Regime change became the watchword in the wealth management space in 2024 as many of many industry leaders left, retired or were unceremoniously ousted in the wake of lauded careers.

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The year began with a new chief executive officer at Morgan Stanley and head of its wealth management unit. Effective January 1, Ted Pick succeeded long-time, highly praised and retiring James Gorman as Morgan Stanley’s CEO.

That transition also led to Andy Saperstein, who had been head of wealth management, shifting into an expanded role where he would also oversee investment management—Pick’s old job. Saperstein’s promotion left open the head of wealth management spot for Jed Finn who has quickly climbed the ranks during his 13 years at the wirehouse.

By February, Finn had laid out a roadmap for hitting goals of $10 trillion in assets and 30% profit margins that leaned on drawing customers from work-place and self-directed customers. Pick has said he also expects the wealth management segment to source business for its investment bank and other divisions at the company. 

Bye, Paul. Hi, Paul. 

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In March, Raymond James Financial announced its then Chief Financial Officer Paul Shoukry would take over as CEO of the St. Petersburg, Florida-based broker-dealer in 2025. Shoukry, 40, was also named president of Raymond James at the time in preparation for the retirement of its long time CEO Paul Reilly, a 69-year old who has served in his role for 14 years.

Shoukry, who starts his new role in February 2025, will be the fourth CEO in the company’s history. He spent the past nine months traveling the country and meeting with hundreds of advisors who drive the core of the company’s revenue. He will take the helm with a focus on a number of new initiatives, including a growing registered investment advisory custody business, efforts to retain large independent practices and stepped-up recruiting at its employee division.
Shifts from the Swiss 

In June, UBS Group AG’s reshuffling of its C-suite after the 2023 acquisition of Credit Suisse  trickled down to its Americas wealth business when the Swiss bank announced that Jason Chandler, a long-time leader who had been head of Global Wealth Management Americas, would step aside. 

His replacement: Michael Camacho, a former head of Wealth Solutions at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Previously in May, Rob Karofsky, a co-president of the parent company, was separately named president of UBS Americas, overseeing its wealth, investment banking and other business divisions in the region.

The new leadership comes at a time when UBS is looking to boost lagging profit margins in the U.S. While executives have said they will lay out their new strategy in February, they telegraphed tighter purse strings with a 2025 broker compensation plan that pared back a lucrative team bonus. 

A Sudden Exit at LPL

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At LPL Financial, the news of a regime change came fast and furiously. In October, the San Diego, California-based company’s board fired President and CEO Dan Arnold for workplace misconduct. 

The board terminated Arnold based on the recommendation of a special committee which found through an investigation by an outside law firm that he had “made statements to employees that violated LPL’s code of conduct,” according to an announcement at that time.

Replacing Arnold is Rich Steinmeier, who has been LPL’s chief growth officer, and joined the company in 2018 from UBS. Steinmeier had been helping to oversee recruiting and its expansion into new channels. 

In December, LPL’s board negotiated with Arnold and allowed him to retain almost 48,000 in stock options valued at $12 million as part of a settlement. Arnold will forfeit the remaining 98,432 in stock options that he had earned over his time at the company and has signed non-solicitation and non-compete agreements that remain in effect until September 30, 2025, according to an SEC filing. 

Arnold also agreed not to disparage LPL and to relinquish any claims against the company as part of the settlement. 

Steinmeier was ready to move on from the Arnold episode earlier this month when he told an audience that he wanted to shift the culture. LPL has been able to “out-invest” its rivals to make its technology and product shelf more attractive than rivals and “closed material gaps relative to the wirehouses,” Steinmeier said. 

“We are the 500-pound gorilla in the marketplace,” he told the audience, according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense.