[ by Melanie Gretchen ] Raymond James Financial completed its deal with Regions Financial Corp., by which it purchased investment firm Morgan Keegan for about $1.2 billion in cash.   With the acquisition, the combined firm will have 6,500 advisers and $372 billion in total client assets.  The firm will operate as "Raymond James | Morgan Keegan" - maintaining both strong brands. Keeping It in the Family. Retention of RRs has been a top priority, according to Raymond James, COO Dennis Zank.  The combined broker/dealer subsidiary - that now includes Morgan Keegan advisers and Raymond James & Associates, its employee channel - will be headed up by former Morgan Keegan CEO, John Carson.  Mr. Carson was will serve as president and join the executive committee of Raymond James Financial, the parent company, alongside CEO Paul Reilly.  In addition, Mr. Carson will serve as head of fixed income. Twelve top executives from Morgan Keegan have joined the new company, along with about 1,000 advisers from the private client group.  Nearly all of the 600 Morgan Keegan advisers who were offered retention awards - 96% - opted to stay.  Meanwhile, the remaining 400 or so FAs have also stayed on without the benefit of retention bonuses.  Mr. Zank expects to retain virtually of those reps.  Since 12/7/11, when the deal was announced, only 7 reps have departed. The Merge. Going forward, Raymond James make available its products and services to Morgan Keegan advisers, including its equity research, trust services, marketing, and bank products, Mr. Zank said.  By early 2013, the conversion of Morgan Keegan’s private client accounts onto Raymond James’ platform will be completed.  To date, the firm has begun integrating the equity capital markets and fixed income capital markets capabilities. Full steam ahead! For further details, go to [Registered Rep, 4/2/12].