Billion-Dollar Florida Broker Ousted from Morgan Stanley to Join RayJay
Richard Altieri, a top-billing Morgan Stanley broker ousted last week from a Boca Raton branch over what sources described were several ‘operational’ concerns with his practice, has quickly found a new home with Raymond James Financial, according to three people familiar with the move.
Altieri’s lawyer, James D. Sallah of Sallah Astarita & Cox in Boca Raton, declined to comment on the move.
The broker, who spent all of his 31-year career with Morgan Stanley and its Smith Barney predecessor, and who had qualified for Morgan Stanley’s Chairman’s Club for its highest producers since 1995, could not be reached for comment.
Raymond James apparently felt comfortable because Altieri’s violations were said to be related to a series of work-from-home infractions, including unapproved printing of certain client material at home in violation of firm policy, and did not include allegations of customer harm, the people said.
The St. Petersburg, Florida-based firm in September hired a former Morgan Stanley Chicago broker who had been managing $1.7 billion and was discharged after a controversial social media post by a friend.
A spokesman for Raymond James did not return a request for comment.
It was not immediately clear how many of Altieri’s six-person team, which included a junior advisor and five support staff, had followed him to Raymond James.
Altieri’s former complex manager at Morgan Stanley in Boca, Bert White, moved to Raymond James in 2017 and runs its Florida region. He has hired a number of his former brokers in South Florida in recent years.
Lawyers said the allegations in Altieri’s case–if true–reflect both the new compliance hurdles for brokers and firms adjusting to the remote work era.
“People are tripping over themselves because they have developed a false sense of security that being home is a safe place,” said Brian Hamburger, Chief Executive of MarketCounsel, who was not familiar with Altieri’s case. “But what they don’t realize is that all their work is done through computer systems that are heavily monitored and surveilled, so firms are getting really good at tracking down these types of violations.”
Altieri’s BrokerCheck report shows four client disputes that had occured between 2005 and 2011. The most recent one closed without any action, while three others from 2005, 2006 and 2009 settled for a combined $28,000.
