The team, which is based in Virginia Beach, oversaw more than $355 million in client assets.

Raymond James has welcomed financial advisors Tim Bellars, Claudia Bellars, CFP®, and Brad Harris to its advisor channel in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

The team, which operates as Bellars Harris Wealth Management, joins from Merrill Lynch, where they managed more than $355 million in client assets. 

Joining the advisors are Tim and Claudia’s son Axel Bellars, vice president of Bellars Harris Wealth Management and RJFS wealth manager, Jeannie Marie Hughes, client service manager, and Hughes’ daughter Laura Savage, client service associate.

Tim Bellars has been in the financial services industry since 1987 and worked at many firms, including UBS and Merrill Lynch. He is a graduate of the Industrial and Labor Relations School of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Claudia Bellars began her financial services career in 1985 in banking. She transitioned to the investment advisory business with Paine Webber in 1992 (later acquired by UBS), and in 2008 joined Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, where she remained until joining Raymond James. She is a Certified Financial Planner professional. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina, with a major in finance.

Prior to Raymond James, Harris, partner at Bellars Harris Wealth Management and RJFS wealth manager, was with Merrill Lynch for 15 years, where he his roles included first vice president, wealth management; senior financial advisor; and portfolio advisor. Earlier in his career, he was a financial advisor and assistant vice president at Paine Webber/UBS in Norfolk, Virginia. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Old Dominion University.

Axel Bellars, vice president of Bellars Harris Wealth Management and RJFS wealth manager, worked at Merrill Lynch as a financial advisor as part of the Bellars Harris Wealth Management Group, where he had worked since 2018. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from George Mason University.

Hughes has more than 41 years of experience in the financial services industry. She began her career in 1978 as a receptionist at Wheat First Securities and quickly moved to sales assistant. Her later experience includes Kidder Peabody, where she was a sales assistant to a producing branch manager, and PaineWebber, where she served as a sales assistant. She started working with Claudia in 1992.

Prior to moving with the team to Raymond James, Savage was a client associate at Merrill Lynch. Previously, she worked for another wealth management firm in Virginia Beach as a client service associate.