Raymond James has made David Patchen, a regional director for the firm’s independent broker/dealer, Raymond James Financial Services, senior vice president of education and practice management within the private client group, with effect from September 1.

In his new role, Patchen will lead and direct several functions, including new and experienced advisor education, conferences and practice management. He will also coordinate with business leaders across the organization to support advisor productivity and contribute to the firm’s succession planning and practice acquisition initiatives.

As a regional director for RJFS, Patchen is responsible for risk management and supervision, branch manager and advisor relationship management, and recruiting. His region includes some 450 advisors across 217 branches.

He also provides practice management coaching to advisors and their teams, who range from mid-level advisors to some of the top advisory firms affiliated with Raymond James.

Prior to his regional management role, Patchen was a financial advisor and recruiter for RJFS. During his time as a recruiter, he began building the Raymond James practice management platform known as Practice Intelligence.

In other recent developments, last month Raymond James recruited financial advisor Eric Muir and his investment team in British Columbia to expand the firm’s footprint in the Burnaby and White Rock areas.