With Raymond James Financial’s purchase of Alex. Brown from Deutsche Bank, its San Francisco-based advisors have moved up to the 45th floor of a downtown skyscraper, near where they had worked before becoming part of the German bank.

“It is quite exciting for them …,” said Haig Ariyan, president of Alex. Brown. “San Francisco is an example of the opportunity we have to grow the business to more than double what it is today, not necessarily in one year but over the next few years, from the standpoint of the number of advisors.”

The SF Bay Area branch includes 10 producing advisors. Along with the entire group of 193 advisors nationwide - who have about $40 billion in client assets - these reps seem pleased to be getting their brand back, too. Deutsche Bank switched the group’s original name to Private Client Services.

“Alex. Brown has a long history, and its brand recognition is pretty powerful, even with Alex. Brown buried in other organizations for the last 20 years,” explained Chairman Seth Waugh. “Alex. Brown resonates a lot with individuals in the United States.”

History of Alex. Brown.    It goes back to 1800, when Irish-born immigrant Alexander Brown founded the first investment bank in the U.S. in Baltimore. That’s about 70 years before Deutsche Bank was started in Germany; about 100 years before its first owner, Bankers Trust, was founded in New York; and over 160 years ahead of the start of its current owner, Raymond James, in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Given the different roots and attributes of Alex. Brown and its new parent firm, advisors and industry-watchers are eager to see how the merger of the 2 companies proceeds after its Labor Day wrap-up. Research on Wealth looks at how the relationship is evolving, and what the industry can expect from the pairing of a boutique wealth-management group based in New York and a much larger Florida-headquartered company, which now works with about 6,800 independent, employee and bank-based registered representatives in the U.S. and abroad.

Wall Street Meets Main Street.    “The acquisition of Alex. Brown was a very savvy move for Raymond James,” said Chip Roame, head of the consultancy Tiburon Strategic Advisors. “It added more high-net-worth focused financial advisors, who were more in large cities and East Coast-based, both good for Raymond James’ synergies.”

Bay Area-based Roame says Raymond James is “the most ‘Wall Street’ of the independent broker-dealers” and of what some industry-watchers refer to as regional firms (though most are now nationally focused), “so it’s less of a stretch” than if a similar rival firm had acquired Alex. Brown. Plus, Raymond James “has some proven expertise in acquisitions,” having bought Morgan Keegan in 2012. (It also just completed the purchase of wealth-manager 3Macs - MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier Inc. - of Canada.)

Another consultant in the Bay Area agrees. “Acquiring more high-net-worth reps is good for Raymond James,” said Tim Welsh, head of Nexus Strategy. “Raymond James is a solid name in the industry. It’s not like Alex. Brown is going from anything like Tiffany to Kmart. They are both well-known - equal in terms of industry recognition and standing, which should serve them well.”

Raymond James executives naturally are upbeat on how they view the combination. “The opportunity for Alex. Brown to become a division of Raymond James is in many ways a homecoming,” said Tash Elwyn, head of Raymond James & Associates, the firm’s employee-advisor channel. “The Alex. Brown advisors are now affiliated with a client-driven private client firm that shares the focus they have on wealth management.”

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