Merrill Lynch $320M duo joins Ameriprise

A $320 million duo of financial advisors has taken the next step in their journey by switching their practice to the branch channel of Ameriprise Financial.

The Tacoma, Washington-based team, operating as Guthrie Rouner Group, was previously with Merrill Lynch. The team also includes registered client service associate Nick Vanderlinda.

Jim Guthrie and Stephen Rouner decided to make the move for several reasons, including the advisor-client experience and tools and resources offered by Ameriprise.

“Top of our list was joining a firm fully committed to the advisor-client experience,” Guthrie said in a statement. “The tools and technology at Ameriprise make the process of working with clients more efficient and allow for us to build even stronger relationships.” He added that the training and coaching opportunities for staff would help them move from support roles to client-facing advisors.

Rouner added that the tools available will free up time for he and his colleagues to spend with clients, and singled-out the financial planning capabilities.

“The planning software at Ameriprise is easy to use, powerful and comprehensive,” Rouner said. “This capability will allow us to offer a more robust financial planning experience to clients with less prep time behind the scenes because of the technology integration across multiple systems.”

The team will be supported locally by Ameriprise branch manager David Cook, Ameriprise complex director Peter Groeschel and Ameriprise regional vice president Jamie Frisone.

Ameriprise has added approximately 1,700 advisors to its channels in the last five years and recently welcomed a $525 million team from RBC to its independent channel.