Raymond James Adds 8 Advisors; Margaret Towle Joins Merrill

Financial advisors Alan Sylvestre and Caroline Wall are based in Mystic, Connecticut, where they manage more than $191 million in combined client assets.

The team members have a total of 28 years of industry experience. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded Sylvestre the Presidential Volunteer Service award.

In Woodlands, Texas, advisor Trent Alton Birdsong joined Wells Fargo with more than $100 million of client assets. He previously worked for UBS Financial Services and has been in the business for 19 years.

On Thursday, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management said it welcomed Margaret Towle, Ph.D., to its Seattle Denali complex in Bainbridge Island, Washington.

"We are thrilled to have Dr. Towle join us and believe that her distinguished experience will further enhance our ability to serve high-net worth-families, endowments and foundations in the Pacific Northwest," said complex director Michael Maroni, in a statement.

From 2011 to 2013, Towle was a partner and managing director with HighTower Advisors in Minneapolis and Bainbridge Island. Since 2009, she has been the editor in chief of The Journal of Investment Consulting.

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Towle was the subject of the June 2009 cover story in Boomer Market Advisor, a predecessor publication of ThinkAdvisor.