Raymond James continues Midwest expansion with addition of two education finance professionals

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Raymond James is continuing to expand its public finance capabilities in the Midwest by hiring veteran education finance professional Richard G. Bartow (Dick) as a managing director and Richard T. Bartow (Rich) as a vice president. Both will provide expert counsel to K-12 school districts throughout Missouri and Kansas while also supporting the general governmental practice. They are joining a full-service team of banking professionals in the firm’s Kansas City, Missouri, office opened by Managing Director Greg Vahrenberg in 2018.

“Dick is a highly regarded banker with deep roots throughout Missouri and a decades-long track record of providing uncompromised client service and financial leadership to school districts and local government issuers,” said Gavin Murrey, executive vice president and head of Public Finance/Debt Investment Banking at Raymond James. “With nearly 45 years of combined experience in the financial services industry, Dick and Rich’s expertise and understanding of the Missouri education landscape is valued by clients and further strengthens our respected education practice.”

Throughout his 30-year career, Dick Bartow has completed over 800 bond issues with a par amount exceeding $3 billion. Most recently, he was an executive vice president for George K. Baum & Company, where he helped the firm maintain its ranking as one of the leading school bond underwriters in Missouri. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Central Missouri.

Rich Bartow has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. He serves on the park board for the city of Raymore, Missouri, and as a board member for the Raymore-Peculiar Public Schools Foundation. He received a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, and a Juris Doctor from Washburn University.

“Raymond James offers a powerful and growing distribution network across the Midwest – which, combined with the firm’s considerable underwriting capacity, will be a winning formula for the municipal market in Missouri and surrounding states,” said Dick Bartow. “My son and I are excited to work with Raymond James’ team of experienced investment bankers and underwriters to build the ‘go-to’ education finance practice in the Midwest.”

The Bartows are the most recent in a series of senior-level Midwestern hires to expand the firm’s presence in a sector with growing financing needs across the country. Other bankers who have recently joined the education public finance team include Managing Directors Elizabeth Hennessy in Illinois, Greg Vahrenberg in Missouri and Damian Maggos in Indiana, as well as Director Paul Soma in Michigan and Vice President Matthew Ruess in Indiana. The firm is searching for additional talented bankers to continue expanding the practice.

The Raymond James Public Finance office is located at 1201 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.

In 2019, Raymond James was the nation’s third-leading underwriter of primary and secondary school transactions, based on par amount, serving as senior manager on 160 negotiated issues totaling more than $4.4 billion in par amount, according to Bloomberg. Consistently ranked by Bloomberg as a top 10 underwriter of municipal bonds nationally, Raymond James has one of the largest public finance practices in the country with approximately 170 professionals in 36 locations nationwide. The firm offers municipal issuers a comprehensive distribution platform and the largest middle-market sales force of any U.S. broker/dealer.

This summary may not be representative of the experience of other clients and is no guarantee of future performance or success. Past performance may not be indicative of future results.

About Raymond James Financial, Inc.
Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF) is a leading diversified financial services company providing private client group, capital markets, asset management, banking and other services to individuals, corporations and municipalities. The company has approximately 7,900 financial advisors. Total client assets are $825 billion. Public since 1983, the firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RJF. Additional information is available at www.raymondjames.com. Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC.