RiverFront Investment Group has expanded its sales team and plans to hire its fourth external wholesaler in the coming months. The Richmond, Virginia-based firm, staffed mostly with Wachovia alums, brought on board Stuart Porterfield as regional director for the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast.

Porterfield, who reports to founding partner and chief operating officer Pete Quinn, will also be in charge of internal sales and marketing efforts. The firm currently has two internal wholesalers and plans to add one to the team.

Porterfield was formerly founder and managing principal of Advisor PT, a financial advisory practice management and coaching firm. Earlier, he spent much of his 20-year career at Wachovia Securities and predecessor firms.

RiverFront plans to add an external wholesaler to cover the Midwest by the end of the first quarter of next year.

"It could be as early as the end of this year," Quinn said in an interview with The MFWire.com.

Meanwhile, RiverFront tapped company insider Rebecca Felton to the role of director of the newly formed partner advisor services group. Felton will report to Quinn and will serve as the point of contact for FAs using RiverFront's products.

Porterfield and Felton's appointments come a few weeks after the launch of three RiverFront-subadvised mutual funds. ALPS Advisors is the investment adviser.

RiverFront, which is 30 percent owned by Robert Baird & Co., is also planning to reorganize the RiverFront-subadvised Baird mutual fund, RiverFront Long-Term Growth Fund, into ALPS' Financial Investors Trust. [SEC filing]

RiverFront has been sub-advising the fund for Baird for about 18 months. If shareholders approve the change, the reorganization will take place in late September.

RiverFront's in-house sales team "will be working in tandem with ALPS' regional representatives in calling on wirehouses, regionals, independents and RIAs," Quinn said.  

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE