Fifth Third Securities' investment program is on something of a tear.
Last week the program beefed up its sales team considerably, hiring Michelle Griffith, formerly of Citibank in Chicago, to run the eastern portion of that territory for Fifth Third; former BankWest Investment Services program manager Bradley Grubb to manage sales in its western Ohio market; and Britt Woods, a former adviser at National City, now sales manager for Tennessee and Georgia.
The hires typify the program's priorities under Howard Hammond, who took over as president four years ago. Previously, Fifth Third's investment program was primarily platform-driven. Now advisers lead the program, creating a product diversity that has allowed it to thrive. When Hammond joined, annuities (fixed and variable) made up 60% of sales; now they account for just 15%.
Fifth Third's territory spans 12 states and counts 1,309 branches. While Woods, a $1 million-plus producer before turning manager, is taking on a new market, Grubb and Griffith were management "upgrades," Hammond said. Both managers know Hammond from their stints at Citi. All three cut their teeth as advisers, as did Hammond.
"A lot of people haven't sat in the chair and produced," Hammond said. "All our management team has at one point."
Griffith was an area investment manager at Citi until Deborah McWhinney's change in strategy retitled her group executive for the last couple of months she was there. The number of advisers under her watch dwindled from more than 20 to just seven as a result of Citi's restructuring of its investment business from traditional bank brokerage to a group advisory model.
Many of the advisers who left Citi joined Fifth Third, and they spoke highly of their old boss. When the position opened up to manage half of Chicago's vast market, Hammond tapped Griffith for the role.
Griffith has just hired the 19th adviser in her territory and plans to add more whenever she finds a promising candidate. With a territory of 70 branches, there's plenty of room for growth as she takes her slice of the program forward. Griffith's immediate goal is to bring in $6 million in revenue annually.
A financial adviser at Citi for 14 years before becoming manager, Griffith said she is more comfortable working within a more traditional bank-brokerage operation. Fifth Third has a 696-strong platform program, for one, and advisers work out of bank branches. "This model gives advisers the independence to build their businesses around the demographics of their individual communities," Griffith said. "I built a successful practice partnering with bankers, a strategy I think leads to accelerated growth over time."
Meanwhile, Woods was National City's top producer for five years running when it was bought out by PNC. The acquiring bank split up advisers' books by branch, leaving Woods with a "stripped" book, so he left for Huntington Bank. Woods really wanted a job in management, though, and Fifth Third was looking to put top producers in management roles.
Woods' territory spans 80 branches right now and manages five advisers. The bank's goal is to eventually have 200 branches in Georgia and 65 to 70 in Tennessee.
Woods' immediate goal is to bring the adviser head count up to 10, then to 25, but only where the hire is a good fit. "We want quality over quantity," he said. In addition, Woods has two platform reps in Georgia and 10 in Tennessee.
Because the territory is effectively a startup, Woods' revenue goal is "tiny," but the manager is bullish about where he can lead his team. "I know what it takes to be a $1 million producer," he said. "I understand the bank client mentality — they're coming to the bank for safety. If you take care of a $100,000 need, you'll soon find they have $500,000 in other places. So many advisers don't look beyond the initial sale."
Grubb said he was attracted to the bank by the level of support the investment side gets from retail, unlike some past experiences. "I've been trumped before by the flavor of the month," he said of investment support being unceremoniously withdrawn when a bank is on a loan or deposit push.
Grubb's new territory consists of around 100 branches, 50 investment advisers and 25 platform reps, something of a drop from the 19-state, 700 branch, 130-adviser program he used to run, but it's in a happier environment.
Grubb said advisers in his territory average $350,000 in production, far higher than Kehrer-Limra's estimate this year of $200,000 for the average bank rep. And the only way is up, he said. "Fifth Third is in a position to get out from under the burden of Tarp, and it will grow organically and through acquisition, hopefully more of the latter, which opens the door for those people who have proved themselves," he said. "That's what I'm looking to do."
