Pinnacle Financial Partners : The Horizon Group Joins Pinnacle Asset Management in Jacksonville

Team of nine veteran financial planning and investment professionals bring local wealth and investment management to the firm

May 15, 2024

The Horizon Group has joined Pinnacle Asset Management, which is Pinnacle's unit for comprehensive financial planning, investment management and securities trading and execution. The team is made up of nine of the Jacksonville area's best known financial and wealth professionals working from Pinnacle's newly added second location in the market:

Christopher Sivley
Financial Advisor, Raymond James Financial Services
Senior Managing Director, Pinnacle Asset Management

Matt Turner
Financial Advisor, Raymond James Financial Services
Senior Managing Director, Pinnacle Asset Management

Jamie Rowell
Financial Advisor, Raymond James Financial Services
Managing Director, Pinnacle Asset Management

Melissa E. Churchwell
Financial Advisor, Raymond James Financial Services
Senior Vice President, Pinnacle Asset Management

Wesley J. Thomas
Financial Advisor, Raymond James Financial Services
Vice President, Pinnacle Asset Management

Amber Bennett,
Client Services Manager, Raymond James Financial Services
Pinnacle Asset Management

Brad Melvin
Client Relationship Consultant, Raymond James Financial Services
Pinnacle Asset Management

Marlo Thomas-Bailey
Client Relationship Consultant, Raymond James Financial Services
Pinnacle Asset Management

Nicholas Gillespie
Client Relationship Consultant, Raymond James Financial Services
Pinnacle Asset Management

They bring more than a century of combined financial services experience to the firm in business and financial planning, education and retirement planning, investment and portfolio management, as well as sustainable investing strategies. They are based at Pinnacle's newest location in Jacksonville at Ponte Vedra Beach,100 Corridor Road, Suite 101.

"It's an incredible honor to welcome the Horizon Group to our team," said Scott Keith, Pinnacle's regional president in Jacksonville. "Pinnacle seeks to meet every client's need, and they add comprehensive financial planning and wealth and investment management to our arsenal. Their wealth of experience and dedication to excellence align perfectly with Pinnacle's culture of providing distinctive service and effective advice to clients."

"Effective wealth management requires a cohesive team dedicated to understanding a clients' needs and delivering tailored solutions," said Brad Sears, manager for Pinnacle Asset Management. "This group will significantly add to our capacity to meet clients' complex needs in North Florida. We embrace the opportunity to enhance our expertise and better serve our firm and our clients."
Sivley is a financial consultant with Pinnacle Asset Management. He has more than 20 years of financial services experience advising and managing high-net-worth families, entrepreneurs and business executives. He most recently served at Truist as a financial advisor. Prior to working in the financial services industry, Chris was an Army intelligence analyst and served in Eastern Europe after the Dayton Peace Accord in Bosnia. Chris is a graduate of the University of Alabama, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He also holds a degree in Spanish from the Defense Language Institute. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®).

Turner brings 18 years of experience to his role as financial consultant with Pinnacle Asset Management. He joins the firm from Truist where he served as a financial advisor. He started his career in financial services at Wachovia Securities in 2006. He earned his bachelor's in management with a minor in finance from Purdue University and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA®).

Rowell brings 25 years of experience to his role as managing director with Pinnacle Asset Management. He most recently served as a financial advisor with Truist Investment Services and prior to that as a wealth management director at BB&T in the North Florida region. Jamie began his investment and wealth management career directly following his graduation. He joined First Union (Wachovia) in 1999. He earned his bachelor's in business management from the University of Georgia. Rowell is also CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®).

Churchwell brings more than 15 years of experience to her role as Senior Vice President with Pinnacle Asset Management. She began her career in the financial services industry in 2007 at Wachovia Securities and then joined BB&T Scott & Stringfellow, now Truist, in December 2012. She is a 2008 graduate of the University of Louisville where she earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics with a concentration in actuarial science and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA®).

Thomas has close to 10 years of financial services experience and comes to Pinnacle Asset Management as a vice president. He also comes from Truist where he served as a client service associate and financial consultant. He started his career in the financial services industry with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Thomas earned a bachelor's degree from Florida State University and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®).

Bennett is a client services manager with Pinnacle Asset Management with more than 15 years of financial services experience. She joins Pinnacle from Truist where she served as a registered client service associate. Prior to that she served as assistant complex manager for BB&T Scott & Stringfellow. She started her career in the financial services industry in 2008 as a licensed personal banker and branch manager for Wells Fargo Bank. She earned her bachelor's in business administration from Flagler College.
Melvin brings a decade of financial services experience to his role as a client relationship consultant. He most recently served as a registered client service associate at Truist Investment Services. Prior to that, he worked as a portfolio advisory services specialist at Fidelity Investments. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Flagler College.

Thomas-Bailey joins Pinnacle with more than 25 years of financial experience and joins Pinnacle Asset Management as a client relationship consultant. She comes from Truist Investment Services, where she was a client service associate and wealth service specialist. Prior to that she served in various roles at Wells Fargo. She started her career with Florida National Bank as an associate in the commercial banking group. Throughout her career, she has been able to establish a strong rapport with wealth clients and build long-standing relationships.

Gillespie also joins Pinnacle as a client relationship consultant with three years of financial services experience. He began his career in the financial services industry with Fidelity Investments in 2022 and joined the Horizon Group in 2023. He earned a bachelor's in finance from Florida State University.
Pinnacle Asset Management is a division of Pinnacle Financial Partners. The financial advisors there work through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. to provide advice and services to businesses and individuals with significant investment needs. They have access to the full suite of investment products offered by Raymond James and serve clients from offices across Pinnacle's footprint.

About Pinnacle Financial Partners
Pinnacle Financial Partners provides a full range of banking, investment, trust, mortgage and insurance products and services designed for businesses and their owners and individuals interested in a comprehensive relationship with their financial institution. The firm is the No. 1 and fastest growing bank in the Nashville-Murfreesboro-Franklin MSA, according to 2023 deposit data from the FDIC. Pinnacle is No. 11 on the 2024 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For® in the U.S.*, its eighth consecutive appearance, and was recognized by American Banker as one of America's Best Banks to Work For 11 years in a row and No. 1 among banks with more than $10 billion in assets in 2023.

The firm began operations in a single location in downtown Nashville, TN, in October 2000 and has since grown to approximately $48.9 billion in assets as of March 31, 2024. As the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee, Pinnacle operates in 17 primarily urban markets across the Southeast.

Additional information concerning Pinnacle, which is included in the Nasdaq Financial-100 Index, can be accessed at www.pnfp.com.

* This ranking is not based in anyway on an individual's abilities in regards to providing investment advice or management. This ranking is not indicative of advisor's future performance, is not an endorsement and may not be representative of individual clients' experience. Raymond James is not affiliated with FORTUNE.

About Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.
Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (RJFS), member FINRA/SIPC, is a financial services firm supporting independent financial advisors nationwide. Since 1974, RJFS provides a wide range of investment and wealth planning-related services through its affiliate, Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC. Both firms are wholly owned subsidiaries of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE-RJF), one of the nation's premier diversified financial services companies with approximately 8,800 financial advisors throughout the United States, Canada and overseas. Total client assets are approximately $1.45 trillion as of Mar. 31, 2024. Additional information is available at raymondjames.com.

About the Financial Institutions Division of RJFS
The Financial Institutions Division was established by Raymond James in 1987 to provide banks and credit unions with an alternative to traditional third-party investment providers. Raymond James provides full-service securities brokerage and advisory services to financial institutions seeking to compete with the largest banks and securities firms in the country. In addition to a full complement of investment products and services, Raymond James has the ability to deliver investment banking, public finance, research, self-clearing capabilities and wealth management services to both individuals and institutions.

Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment products are: not deposits, not FDIC insured, not insured by any government agency, not bank guaranteed, subject to risk and may lose value. Investment advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Pinnacle Asset Management and Pinnacle Bank are not registered broker/dealers and are independent of Raymond James Financial Services. Located at 150 3rd Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37201, [phone].

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® (with plaque design) and CFP® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Investments & Wealth Institute™ (The Institute) is the owner of the certification marks "CIMA" and "Certified Investment Management Analyst." Use of CIMA and/or Certified Investment Management Analyst signifies that the user has successfully completed The Institute's initial and ongoing credentialing requirements for investment management professionals.