Raymond James Financial Institutions Division announces new Central division director
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Raymond James Financial Institutions Division (FID) announced Steve Kruchten as the new Central division director of relationship management, according to Tim Killgoar, senior vice president and FID national director. In his new role, Kruchten will support the recruitment, retention and support of bank and credit union programs and advisors in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Kruchten has gained a wealth of experience in the financial services industry for over 33 years. Before taking on his new role as division director, he served as president and branch manager of Bremer Investments, a division of Bremer Bank and a FID-affiliated program. In that role, Kruchten oversaw the overall strategy and performance of the program, which included 50 employees and advisors across Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin. His initiatives included improving the client experience and a focus on cross-functional partnering with bank partners. Kruchten’s deep insight into the opportunities and challenges financial institutions and their advisors face serves him well in guiding institutions to their strategic goals.
“I am very humbled and honored to be announced as FID’s new Central division director,” said Kruchten. “Twelve years ago, I was initially drawn to Raymond James’ reputation and the full spectrum of services they offer to bank and credit union programs and their advisors. Not only does Raymond James offer high-quality investment management services that benefit advisors and their clients, but the firm also offers resources to help institutions grow their programs. I am excited to be a part of the continued growth of the Financial Institutions Division, and I look forward to working with and supporting our programs and advisors within the Central region.”
Kruchten has served in a variety of financial services roles, including as an account manager at a third-party marketing firm developing over 50 banks; a financial consultant with Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch; and a retail branch financial consultant, private client advisor and regional sales manager at Wells Fargo. He was also the regional vice president of wholesaling for AXA Equitable, where he advised bank investment representatives on annuity products throughout the Upper Midwest and grew the territory sales by 84%. Kruchten earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He has been named to Bank Investment Consultants’ Top Program Managers list seven times; in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
“Steve has shown exemplary leadership and commitment to advisors, and I am pleased to now welcome him as part of the relationship management division team,” said Killgoar. “He is a seasoned manager with over three decades of experience and I look forward to his and Raymond James’ continued growth in his territories.”
In light of Kruchten’s transition, Bremer Investments is currently conducting a search for a new program manager, who Steve will work with during the transition and continue to support in his new role as division director.
About the Financial Institutions Division
The Financial Institutions Division was established by Raymond James in 1987 to provide banks and credit unions with an alternative to traditional third-party investment providers. Raymond James provides full-service securities brokerage and advisory services to financial institutions seeking to compete with the largest banks and securities firms in the country. In addition to a full complement of investment products and services, Raymond James has the ability to deliver investment banking, public finance, research, self-clearing capabilities and wealth management services to both individuals and institutions.
About Raymond James Financial Services
Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., is a financial services firm supporting independent financial advisors nationwide. Since 1974, Raymond James Financial Services Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, has provided a wide range of investment and wealth planning related services through its affiliate, Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC. Both broker/dealers are wholly owned subsidiaries 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.
BIC's Top 25 Program Managers: To compile the list, multiple variables were used and combined into a weighted average. Specifically, six factors were used: (1) total team assets under management; (2) growth of team assets; (3) annual team production (4) growth of team annual production; (5) average production per advisor; and (6) number of full-time advisors the program manager directly supervises. Also, in some cases, estimates of production-per-advisor were used by dividing team production by the average number of advisors year-over-year. The ranking may not be representative of any one client's experience, is not an endorsement, and is not indicative of advisor's future performance. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. BIC is not affiliated with Raymond James.