Northwestern broker-dealer and investment advisory McAdams Wright Ragen has hired a small clutch of ex-Morgan Stanley Smith Barney advisors to open a full-service retail brokerage branch in Yakima, in central Washington State.

The Yakima team includes branch manager Dan Sullivan, brokers Gary Staples and Doug Warren, and sales assistant Carly Mestatz.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is the two month-old joint venture between Citigroup's brokerage unit Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley's private client business.

McAdams Wright Ragen's new Yakima office provides clients services such as research on stocks and bonds, equity and fixed-income trading, investment advice, access to mutual funds, online services, checking, debit and credit cards, and electronic fund transfers.

As an investment advisory, McAdams Wright Ragen focuses on value stocks - especially those of companies in the Pacific Northwest. "This makes Yakima a strategic location as it is at the heart of the region’s agriculture business and the home to a number of world-class businesses," McAdams Wright Ragen said in a press release.

With around 90 employees and more than $3.5 billion in client assets, McAdams Wright Ragen has offices in Seattle and Bellevue – along with Yakima - in Washington, and an office in Portland, Oregon.