Wisconsin Team Brings $730M to Raymond James
A Wisconsin-based five-advisor team from Commonwealth is joining Raymond James’ independent advisor channel, marking the latest departure from the LPL Financial-acquired firm.
The team operated as Financial Consulting Services, and included Russell Olson, Christopher Lamal, Raymond Krusic and daughter Nicole Krusic, Ryan Spiering and Brian Craig. Together, the team managed about $730 million from their Green Bay location, working with business owners, corporate executives and retirees.
Branch operations manager Amanda Hanley and branch professional Renate Diedrick will join the team at Raymond James; in a statement, Olson said Raymond James’ culture and resources “made for an easy next step” for the team.
“The firm’s modern tools and private wealth capabilities give our team the support to continue tailoring strategies that reflect each client’s goals in an impactful way,” he said.
Olson was at Commonwealth for 13 years before joining Raymond James, while Lamal, Raymond Kustic and Craig have 27, 35 and 23 years of experience, respectively. Spiering worked at Thrivent before joining Commonwealth, while Nicole Kustic has three years of industry experience.
Last August, LPL Financial closed on its acquisition of the Waltham, Mass.-based Commonwealth Financial Network, with 3,000 advisors and $305 billion in assets, for a purchase price of about $2.7 billion in cash.
Initially, the firm aimed for a 90% advisor attrition rate, and as of last fall, it reported 80% retention of Commonwealth assets. By early January, about 80% of advisors were sticking with Commonwealth through the acquisition. However, Chief Financial Officer Matt Audette argued on the firm’s 2025 fourth-quarter earnings call that it still expected to hit 90% asset retention.
“When you look at the advisors who have signed to stay with LPL so far, we’re now just over 80%,” he said. “And you look at those on average, they are larger; they’re faster growing; and they’re higher producers than those that have decided to go elsewhere.”
According to LPL, the firm remains on track to complete the Commonwealth conversion by the fourth quarter of 2026.
Last week, Wealth Management reported that Commonwealth and the Securities and Exchange Commission had reached a tentative agreement to settle a case against the firm that initially resulted in $93 million in fines.
According to the original order, Commonwealth had a revenue-sharing agreement with its clearing broker that suggested an incentive for reps to place clients’ funds in certain mutual fund share classes (which could be more expensive than other share classes of the same funds).
The SEC argued that Commonwealth knew of the more affordable options (even recommending them in specific programs) and that these alternatives would result in lower revenue for the firm. Still, it failed to alert clients that their recommendations were conflicted.
In 2024, a federal judge ordered Commonwealth to pay $93 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and a civil penalty. Commonwealth appealed the case to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, where federal judges overturned the judgment in April 2025.
In their decision, the judges agreed with Commonwealth’s argument that parts of the case should have been heard by a jury and remanded the case back to the district level.