Raymond James welcomes $160 million advisor team in Frisco, Texas
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Raymond James welcomed financial advisors David Alford and Claudia Tapara, CIMA®, CRPC®, to Raymond James & Associates (RJA) – the firm’s employee advisor channel – in Frisco, Texas, according to Pat Allison, Western divisional director for RJA.
Alford and Tapara join Raymond James from Merrill Lynch, where they previously managed approximately $160 million in client assets. They join the new Frisco office, which is part of the North Texas-Arkansas Complex managed by Jeremy Silvas. The team operates as Alford & Associates Wealth Management Group of Raymond James.
“Raymond James has a big downtown presence and Frisco has been in the top five growing cities in the past 10 years, so when we learned that Raymond James picked out an office space with a commitment to North Texas, we were thrilled to join,” said Alford. “The long-standing client-first history, the stability of the firm and the continually strong leadership at Raymond James since its founding, mixed with the positive energy, culture and technological advances the firm offers, made for a dream scenario for our team.”
Alford has been in the financial services industry for over 28 years. He began his career in 1987 at Carty & Company, and also worked at Lehman Brothers and successor Smith Barney before joining UBS in 2008 and Merrill Lynch in 2012. Today, Alford provides investment strategies through the use of equities, fixed income securities and more through Raymond James.
Tapara has spent the last seven years at Merrill Lynch, where she began her financial services career. She earned her bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in economics from the University of North Texas. Tapara also earned her Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠ (CRPC®) designation and attained the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) designation from the Investments and Wealth Institute™ (The Institute) through the Yale School of Management.
“I’m pleased to welcome David and Claudia to the Raymond James family,” said Allison. “I’m thrilled about their shared commitment to growing in the North Texas area as we continue to expand, and I’m proud that our unique culture stood out to them during their due diligence.”
About Raymond James & Associates
Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC, which has built a national reputation for more than 58 years as a leader in financial planning for individuals, corporations and municipalities, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE-RJF), a leading diversified financial services company with approximately 8,100 financial advisors throughout the United States, Canada and overseas. Total client assets are $828 billion. Additional information is available at raymondjames.com.
Investments & Wealth Institute™ (The Institute) is the owner of the certification marks “CIMA” and “Certified Investment Management Analyst.” Use of CIMA and/or Certified Investment Management Analyst signifies that the user has successfully completed The Institute's initial and ongoing credentialing requirements for investment management professionals.