When Synovus Securities, the stand-alone broker-dealer owned by Synovus Financial Corporation, decided recently it was time to grow its brokerage business in the Tampa Bay and Central Florida areas, it hired two top Financial Consultants with the market experience to form the core of a new team.
Kevin Murray and Brad Kirchner each has more than 20 years of top-tier experience, Murray with SunTrust, Kirchner with Fifth Third. The pair met at SunTrust in 2000, and they and their wives and children have been personal friends ever since, lending their partnership an extra dimension.
“Brad and I wanted to get back to helping real people solve real problems. Synovus gave us that opportunity,” says Murray, who is a Certified Financial Planner® professional.
“I never would have thought that after being friends for so many years that we’d end up partnering together and switching jobs on the same day together,” Kirchner says. “I think we both helped make the other’s decision easier.”
Murray has never been afraid to give a direct opinion on what he thinks a client should do — even if he can tell that the client may disagree with what he will advise.
“I explain that choosing investments is like building a baseball team,” Murray explains, “where maybe you want your first baseman to be tall, hit for power, maybe left-handed because he plays first base. And then maybe you want your shortstop to be smaller and more nimble to play good defense, but maybe he doesn’t hit as well. We take a compilation of different managers and put them into a portfolio, one that seeks to produce the best risk/reward for the client.”
The plan for the Tampa region is for Murray to be the team leader of five Financial Consultants.
“Synovus, as a financial corporation,” says Kim Tew, Vice-President, Synovus Securities, “has the ability to service a client across a wide spectrum, from their first $100 personal deposit to their estate planning/succession planning for their business or a family office multi-million dollar relationship. In the Tampa Bay area, Brad and Kevin are the quarterbacks for any and all investment needs.”
“At Synovus Securities, we run our business with family-centric approach,” Tew continues. “We work together to service the whole needs of the client as well as their family while giving our brokers the ability to design custom recommendations. Nothing we do is cookie-cutter.”
Synovus Financial Consultants have broad flexibility in shaping their business and an authentic voice in how the brokerage unit is run and how they service their own clients. At the same time, they have the backing of a strong, large financial institution.
“We have been looking for the right team of Financial Consultants for the Tampa Bay market for more than a year,” according to Tew. “We wanted the right people that fit our culture. That’s who Kevin and Brad are. They were well worth the wait.”
813.966.6297
www.synovus.com
Investment products and services provided by Synovus are offered through Synovus Securities, Inc. (“SSI”), Synovus Trust Company, N.A. (“STC”), GLOBALT, a separately identifiable division of STC and Creative Financial Group, a division of SSI. Trust services for Synovus are provided by Synovus Trust Company, N.A. The registered broker-dealer offering brokerage products for Synovus is Synovus Securities, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment products and services are not FDIC insured, are not deposits of or other obligations of Synovus Bank, are not guaranteed by Synovus Bank and involve investment risk, including possible loss of principal amount invested.
Synovus Securities, Inc. is a subsidiary of Synovus Financial Corp and an affiliate of Synovus Bank and Synovus Trust. Synovus Trust Company, N.A. is a subsidiary of Synovus Bank.