Synovus Securities, Inc. (Columbus)

Name: Synovus Securities, Inc.
Address: 1137 First Avenue 2 Nd Floor, Columbus, GA, 31901
Telephone: 706-649-2327

Synovus Securities, Inc. is a large advisory firm based in Columbus. It manages $2.73 billion of regulatory assets for 7,067 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2001 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, and 44 other states.

Synovus Securities provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, selection of other advisers, publication of newsletters, educational seminars and workshops, and tax related services, administrative services. It prepares financial plans for approximately 1,500 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm also engages as tax related services.

Synovus Securities: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Synovus Securities, Inc. is $2.73 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 96% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $1.11 billion in discretionary accounts and $1.62 billion in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $553.06 thousand each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $319.57 thousand.

Synovus Securities has custody of $17.47 million in cash and securities for 24 clients in total and its related person acts as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in investment and business development companies the most. They account for 76% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is exchange traded securities, which make up 17% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in state and local bonds form 3% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Synovus Securities, Inc. for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, fixed fees, and commissions. Hourly charges are usually charged for consulting work and special projects. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Guy Leonard Sexton serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, corporations or other businesses, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Guy Leonard Sexton is individuals with 6,274 clients and $1.28 billion of assets under management. Among the 8 most similar advisory firms, Synovus Securities has the highest percentage of individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $2.73 billion for 7,067 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. None of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Synovus Securities doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Synovus Securities, Inc.

The company employs 232 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 78 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 182 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There’s a single person with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Guy Leonard Sexton has been acting as President since 1 Aug 1985. Leigh Angela Wills joined the executive team most recently as the Chief Financial Officer/Financial Operations Principal.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Guy Leonard Sexton	Evp/director	1 Aug 1985	Other	1204541
Lillian Enfinger Burns	Senior vice president and director of compliance for fms	1 Jul 1987	Other	1430853
John Atkinson Shinkle	Evp & director	1 Oct 1988	Other	720677
Mitchell Travis Mccoy	Rop	1 Mar 1997	Other	2446194
Robert Parker Varner	Evp & director	1 Apr 1997	Other	2192715
Columbus Bank And Trust Company	Owner	1 Oct 1997	75% - 100%	58-0201800
Charles Glen West	Financial principal/chief financial officer	1 Jul 1998	Other	3042519
Charles G West	Financial principal	1 Jul 1998	Other	3042519
Patricia Louise Whipple	Svp & chief oper. officer	1 Dec 1998	Other	2138766
Alfred Daniel Mallard	President	1 Sep 2000	Other	1284141
William Gene Perkins	Ceo	1 Sep 2000	Other	1022873
Synovus Financial Corp.	Synovus securities, inc parent	1 Aug 2001	75% - 100%	58-1134883
Jeffery Barton Singleton	President/ceo	1 Apr 2006	Other	2122679
James Thomas Jr Wall	Bond trading manager/director	1 Apr 2006	Other	1228535
Andrew Richard Jr Klepchick	Evp/president/ceo	1 Apr 2006	Other	1526283
Kyle Jay Hallman	Srop	1 Apr 2006	Other	1954681
Leah Jeanette Kirk	Chief operating officer	1 Jul 2006	Other	2217286
Donna A. Byrne	Chief compliance officer	1 Jun 2007	Other	4183151
Kyle Jay Hallman	Rosfp	1 Jun 2008	Other	1954681
Michael Edward Fowler	Rop	1 Sep 2008	Other	2486220
Lillian Enfinger Burns	Chief compliance officer	1 Jan 2010	Other	1430853
Gene Frederick Gunderson	Chief compliance officer	1 Mar 2010	Other	2914172
Robert Ward Law	President - cfg division	1 Jan 2011	Other	1399885
Leigh Angela Wills	Chief financial officer/financial operations principal	1 Jul 2017	Other	5101091

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 1 indirect owner.

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Synovus Financial Corp.	Parent company	1 Jun 1985	75% - 100%	58-1134883

Based in Columbus

The principal office where Synovus Securities, Inc. performs its advisory services is located at 1137 First Avenue 2 Nd Floor, Columbus, GA 31901 The mailing address of the firm is P.O. Box 2628, Columbus, GA 31902 2628. An additional office of the firm is in Perry, GA. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 706-649-2327 or by fax 706-649-7147. The normal business hours are 8:00 am - 5:00 pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at cfgltd.com.