Reginald C. Rogers Jr., the founding president of Legg Mason's investment products marketing firm, has jumped ship to help a larger rival expand its bank business.
Mr. Rogers, who ran Legg Mason's Bankers Financial Partners for the past three years, began Monday as executive vice president with the financial institutions division of Robert Thomas Securities.
In joining the Robert Thomas bank group, Mr. Rogers is teaming with a firm that operates discount or full-service third-party marketing programs for 100 banks, including South Carolina institutions Palmetto Bank in Greenville and First National South in Marion.
Mr. Rogers said this breadth, compared with the 12 banks his former company counted as clients, drew him.
"This was a better opportunity in terms of more banks and brokers to work with," he said.
He added that his reduction in title - from president to executive vice president - was more than compensated by an increase in salary. "Financially it was a very, very rewarding opportunity to make the move," he said.
In fact, industry experts believe that Legg Mason's tight purse strings may have frustrated Mr. Rogers and driven him away. "He was operating under a limited budget," said one analyst.
Mr. Rogers acknowledged tight financial oversight, but said he was not hamstrung by it.
He said his budget, while "not unreasonable, certainly was conservative," reflecting an industrywide tightening up.
Among other responsibilities, Mr. Rogers plans to help Robert Thomas establish a toehold at larger banks. Working from an office near his Raleigh, N.C., home, he said he will also expand business at existing clients.
Brewster Ellis, president of Robert Thomas' financial institutions group, said that the hiring of an executive of Rogers' caliber to work directly under him "shows our commitment" to banks.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rogers' former employer, Bankers Financial Partners, which was set up by Legg Mason in 1992 to capitalize on banks' growing appetite for investment products, plans to continue building its business in spite of losing Mr. Rogers.
In fact, "we'd like to add banks," said James Brinkley, president of the Legg Mason division that oversees the bank program.
But, Mr. Brinkley added, the company has "no plans at this time" to replace Mr. Rogers.
Instead, William Brab, a Legg Mason senior vice president, is overseeing operations. The unit's two regional sales managers - Julia McNeal and John Houston - report to him.
