RBC, Stifel Add Merrill Lifers in NY, NM
Broker who began his career with Merrill in 1995 after graduating from college said the pandemic presented an opportunity for a “fresh start.”
Mason Braswell has been covering Wall Street and wealth management since graduating from New York University in 2012. He was previously with InvestmentNews, where he focused on wirehouses and registered investment advisers. Follow him on Twitter @masonbraswell to keep up on the latest news in the industry.
Broker who began his career with Merrill in 1995 after graduating from college said the pandemic presented an opportunity for a “fresh start.”
The team’s move underscores the wirehouses’ growing appetite for large private bank teams.
Merrill Lynch hired a team said to be managing $17 billion in client assets at Citi but on the same day lost a $1.35 billion-asset Maryland team to Janney and a $350 million-asset Connecticut team to independence
Eight-person team had been overseeing around $500 million in client assets, according to a person familiar with their move.
Net new assets rose 43% from the prior quarter and 185% from a year ago thanks to new self-directed and workplace clients and asset aggregation by traditional brokers.
Signs of a thaw in the firm’s three-year recruiting freeze come in wake of 3% decrease in total advisor ranks for parent Bank of America.
Sieg, who had been running practice management for almost a year and is brother of Merrill wealth head Andy Sieg, takes the reins from Chris Harvey.
Despite the headcount declines, the company said its focus on higher producing brokers helped to boost revenue.
Thomas, a former NFL player who had overseen a Merrill complex in Florida for the past two years, is returning to California to take over Morgan Stanley’s Menlo Park branch.
Four-person group had been overseeing $400 million in client assets and underscores Morgan Stanley’s revived recruiting focus.
Broker who had been managing $1 billion in client assets is said to have been forced out of wirehouse after admitting to placing a listening device in his former partner’s office.
Decision is the latest in a series of claims over a broker-run options strategy that have mostly gone in UBS’s favor.
State court judge blocks brokers from soliciting 31 former customers referred from Merrill parent Bank of America but denies a broad customer contact ban Merrill had sought.
Broker who allegedly traded in non-discretionary account for two years after customer died agrees to nearly $27,000 in fines and restitution, says he believes customer pre-approved his trading strategy.
Merrill advisor who joined UBS in Garden City, Long Island, was generating $7.1 million in annual revenue, according to a person familiar with the move.
Some Merrill managers whose branches did not meet asset growth and bank product sales goals saw bonuses drop as much as 60%, sources said.
Group violated the Protocol for Broker Recruiting by improperly taking contact information for and soliciting 31 customers carved out under a bank referral program, Merrill Lynch argues.
Nathan Marsden, a veteran complex manager in Michigan, takes over for Brett Thelander, who resigned last month to join Rockefeller Capital after a garden leave.
A top-ranked New Jersey broker at wirehouse was ushered out on Tuesday for what sources said were policy violations that did not involve customers.
Broker who split from his team is working from Winston Salem, North Carolina and St. Petersburg, Florida, according to registration records.
Broker whose allegedly improper trading in an elderly client’s account was the subject of two New York Times articles agreed to an 18-month suspension and $10,000 fine.
Eight-person team had been overseeing $1.3 billion in client assets, according to a source familiar with the move.
Walker, who joined Baird in late October after a 28-year career with Wells Fargo, had been hired to amp up recruiting for the regional firm in Missouri.
Escalating recruiting wars it had abandoned, Morgan Stanley has been pitching some multi-million-dollar teams with signing bonuses triple their annual revenue, according to headhunters.
Stifel Financial has hired Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network executive Alex David to help it expand a newly rebranded independent contractor channel.
El Segundo, California broker had been overseeing $520 million in client assets, according to people familiar with the move.
Morgan Stanley’s U5 notice touched on issues with using personal email to print confidential firm documents at home.
Hans Maentz and Bernard Machlovitch, who reportedly oversee $1.5 billion and work primarily with Native American tribes, make a rare midweek move.
Robert Peyreigne, who joined the trading firm and investment bank’s small wealth unit in 2016, said revenue has more than doubled during his tenure despite flat headcount.
Former brokers claim that the “arbitration process broke down” over the five weeks of virtual hearings and arbitrators “exceeded their powers” in failing to postpone hearings, according to a federal court filing.
Boston judge cited the “despicable” nature of the crime in re-enforcing a five-year sentence against James Polese.
Group of three Merrill lifers had spent a combined 68 years with the thundering herd based in San Antonio and Kenedy, Texas, according to registration records.
Wells Fargo Advisors continues cost-cutting by consolidating management of its private client group, slimming to eight from 12 sales regions.
Robert Mitchell, a million-dollar-plus producer at Morgan Stanley, follows the lead of others fired for compliance missteps by joining a regional firm.
Eight-person group includes four advisors who had been managing $1.2 billion in client assets, according to an announcement on Tuesday.
Group of three advisors had been overseeing $350 million in client assets, they said.
The firm’s employee loan balance rose for the first time in eight years as it has jumped back into veteran broker recruiting.
Group joining Rockefeller in Irvine had generated $3 million in revenue and follows Rockefeller’s hire last week of a $2.5 million Merrill team in Denver.
Advisor and local restaurateur Kerry Moy accepted a two-month suspension and $5,000 fine for allegedly including the wrong names of attendees on business meals when seeking reimbursement.
Scott Curtis, head of RayJay’s more than 8,000 advisors, says some may be able to work from home indefinitely with adequate in-office support.
In response to competition, Raymond James hikes hiring bonuses, eliminates a longstanding production quota for recruits and will absorb loan balances of deceased advisors.
The filing appeared on the record for a California broker and managing director who is part of Morgan Stanley’s Sports and Entertainment Group.
Brett Thelander, a career Merrill manager who was running its ‘Mid-America’ private wealth region, will join Rockefeller after a 90-day garden leave, two sources said.
Colorado hire is Rockefeller’s 45th team since its founding while RBC picked up a Merrill broker who said he was frustrated at Merrill’s push to sell Bank of America products.
Richard Altieri, a Chairman’s Club producer pushed out last week over alleged procedural lapses, has agreed to join Raymond James’ employee branch channel.
New Orleans-area advisor who was managing $145 million at a Chase branch allegedly violated employment agreements by soliciting former clients.
Broker who was discharged after 23 years for failing to share account credits with retired advisor gets lifetime bar from regulator.
Former JPMorgan Chase bank-based broker acceded to his former firm’s customer contact block but did not admit wrongdoing.
Richard Altieri, who had been managing $953 million, according to Barron’s, left under pressure this week after more than three decades at Morgan Stanley and its Smith Barney predecessor.
Unexpected departure of Dallas-area broker whose team produced around $3 million appears related to unapproved outside business activities, sources said.
UBS broker in New Jersey managing $460 million returns to Morgan Stanley after 11 years.
Team includes two veterans who had spent nearly 50 years combined at Merrill and who managed $1.2 billion in assets.
First Republic’s hire is its first this year after scooping up eight teams in 2020 but marks an unusual recruit outside its typical Wall Street focus.
Seven-person team had been managing $6.5 billion in client assets, UBS said.
California-based private bank is giving select recruiters up to 12% of a prospect’s trailing 12-month production—double the industry standard—in an offer that expires in April.
Two-advisor team in Red Bank includes a 27-year Merrill lifer and a 40-year veteran who was with Merrill for 26 years.
Group of four brokers had been generating $4.6 million in fees and commissions, according to the team leader.
A sole public arbitrator granted the former advisor’s request for expungement and said Merrill defamed the broker by not looking into the allegations behind a customer complaint before issuing the termination.
Duo who had joined First Republic in 2013 after running their own RIA had been overseeing $900 million in assets, according to a person familiar with their book.
The firm added 131 advisors last year, down from the 150 who joined in 2019, but CEO Ron Kruszewski forecasted a pick-up in hiring even as a rival warned of increased competition.
Bank scrambles to retain brokers following its decision to prohibit them from servicing accounts of clients outside the U.S.
One week after losing a $2.6 million team in Atlanta to Janney Montgomery Scott, Morgan Stanley nabs two comparable producers near Baltimore from Merrill Lynch.
Despite shrinking advisor count, UBS Wealth Americas reported record earnings thanks to a boost in fee-based revenue, positive net new assets and loan growth.
A federal judge granted Morgan Stanley’s motion to block the RBC group from soliciting their former clients and denied the brokers’ counterclaim.
Brokers who brought a ‘constructive discharge’ claim against the firm in 2017 have agreed to repay the balance on six promissory notes, according to an arbitration award.
Dallas broker was discharged in Morgan Stanley’s continuing pursuit of advisors who allegedly cheated retired advisors on accounts they passed along.
Princeton, NJ, advisors say Morgan Stanley is soliciting clients they brought with them when they moved from UBS in 2010, in violation of written and verbal agreements.
Net new assets rebounded and customer balances hit a record thanks to rising markets and a renewed focus on prospecting by Merrill’s “thundering herd.”
Morgan Stanley team with $6.5 million and Merrill team generating $3.3 million in revenue bring Rockfeller’s brokerage force to 44 teams.
Merrill brokers added about 20,000 net new households last year, compared to 35,000 in 2019, but given the pandemic executives say they are pleased.
The firm’s profit rose 157% compared to the year-ago quarter even as its sales force fell another 2% in the quarter to 13,513.
Rockefeller hires its second Merrill team in Chicago while RBC recruits two teams with $900 million combined from the same UBS branch in Nebraska.
Family-led team of four advisors who managed $386 million returned to Morgan Stanley, where they began their careers after more than nine years at competitor.
New Jersey advisors “flagrantly” violated their employment agreements by calling former clients and using confidential information, wirehouse says in new lawsuit.
Purchase of Portland, Oregon-based McGee Wealth Management is Mercer’s third announced in the past week.
Chief executive Paul Reilly earned $11.1 million in 2020 as RayJay’s board said it “significantly” reduced annual bonuses for senior executives in light pandemic-related declines in earnings.
Broker had been managing over $200 million in client assets, according to two sources familiar with his practice.
Wells Fargo told advisors across its wealth management and private banking operations on Thursday that they can no longer service clients outside the U.S.
The new recruits mark a rare split from Merrill’s retreat from veteran broker recruiting over the past three years.
Elizabeth Dennis, who oversaw sales of capital markets and investment banking services to wealth management customers, takes on the additional role leading private wealth.
Wells Fargo has enhanced its already high-end fees for recruiters with performance-based incentives for its most active headhunters.
The nation’s largest independent broker-dealer failed to maintain proper supervision of record retention, fingerprinting and screening of associated persons, consolidated reports.
Florida broker alleges that the wirehouse improperly withheld deferred compensation from advisors who left for competing firms.
Advisors in Louisiana and New Jersey left Merrill after about two decades.
Millennial advisor with $1.5 million in revenue, who was three-time winner of Merrill’s “excellence in growth” award, says he is a believer in cold calling.
In discussing Merrill’s 2021 compensation plan with advisors, Wealth Management President Andy Sieg explains that rock-bottom rates constraining profits require vigilance.
UBS attracts multi-million-dollar advisors in southern California and Texas, loses Boston-area duo producing $3.5 million to Morgan Stanley.
Wirehouse leaves grid levels unchanged, adds team requirement, lifts numerical loan requirement, raises minimum account sizes for “private wealth” bankers.
Shea and another Barron’s colleague will head a 12-person practice management consulting team promoting sales, assessment and training skills at the wirehouse.
A twelve-person “private wealth” group in Manhattan overseeing more than $4 billion for ultra-wealthy families join a firm affiliated with former private wealth executive John Straus.
After raising payout hurdles in 2020, UBS told advisors on Thursday that it is making no changes in 2021 compensation plan.
Wells Fargo Advisors raised by $1,000 the monthly revenue its core brokers must produce before payout graduates from 22% to 50% on incremental revenue.
Veterans of the brokerage world for more than 25 years give up their licenses to form a fee-only RIA in Beverly Hills.
High-net-worth brokers in Los Angeles with backgrounds at AllianceBernstein and J.P. Morgan joined Wells’s ‘private wealth advisor group’ aimed at brokers servicing $5 million-plus clients on Tuesday.
Boca Raton, FL-based group that joined Morgan Stanley last week managed about $1.7 billion in client assets at UBS.
Merrill Lynch on Friday lost three advisors near San Francisco overseeing $920 million of assets to UBS, and two in Dallas managing $200 million to an independent firm affiliated with Raymond James.
Tax specialists who oversee $373 million in client assets shift to Cetera unit specializing in working with accountants.
Chairman’s Club advisor who Morgan Stanley reportedly eased out last month becomes an independent broker after 25 years with wirehouses.
Customers of UBS brokers who jump to a competitor will receive fee waivers and loan discounts that firm says reassigned advisors should embrace despite effect on their compensation.
Judge upholds eye-popping $11 million arbitration award to former compliance supervisor, plus $1 million in interest and costs to cover his appeal costs.
Former UBS and Morgan Stanley brokers are fined and suspended by regulator over client privacy violations after losing their new posts at Wells Fargo and Raymond James.
Broker specializing in Latin American clients is the latest to have run into trouble over alleged unapproved outside investments.
Brokers Tuesday morning say they cannot get confirmations of trade executions or complete wire transfers, and self-directed Merrill Edge customers said they can’t access their accounts.
Atlanta wealth management banker wins expungement of report that she was fired for enrolling customers in unasked-for insurance policies, something Wells allegedly encouraged.
Trio managing $380 million is the fifth to join new Strategic Wealth Services unit launched for employee-channel producers seeking more support than typical LPL independent contractors.
Texas broker who spent his 27-year career at Wells and predecessor A.G. Edwards chafed over small-account policies; nine-year NextGen star in Maryland wanted greater marketing and investment-choice freedom.
Complaints from retired broker about underpayments from colleagues who “bought” practice triggered a review of “Former Advisor Program” that led to ten terminations this week.
Two weeks after his surprise departure from a Morgan Stanley Graystone Consulting office near San Francisco, Thane Stenner returns to Canada’s Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management.
Brokers who had spent a combined 65 years at Morgan Stanley and predecessor firms in Philadelphia gravitated to an independent broker and advisory firm in New Jersey managed by their former complex head.
Former Chairman’s Club member at legacy Smith Barney branch ran into trouble for keeping prospect lists outside approved customer relationship management system, sources said.
Five advisors managing $1.8 billion are the latest to join super-producer Craig Findley at Ohio firm he founded last year after being dismissed for nonclient-related policy violations.
RBC reinstates zero-payout policy on sub-$100,000 accounts following a suspension for the pandemic.
Top-ranked broker whose team managed $18.5 billion for pension plans forced out for allegedly violating outside business activity procedures.
James Taylor, a top Next-Gen adviser who Merrill had tapped as 2021 head of its advisors’ “council to management,” took his 13-person team to Morgan Stanley on Friday.
Merrill recruits Wells Fargo manager to fill a void, breaking a years-long recruiting freeze and reliance on a rotating bench of insiders.
The largest brokerage firm by headcount added 181 advisors in the third quarter and 837 in the past year, but warned of a new-office slowdown amid virus uncertainty.
Duo producing $1.7 million in Akron and $500,000 broker in Portland leave UBS, which has been focusing on multi-million-dollar advisors.
High-end Wells’ recruits can pocket 340% of their trailing-12 month production—up from around 325%—if they hit asset growth targets within three years of their arrival.
European asset manager Azimut Group is paying $50 million for 55% of independent brokerage firm founded two years ago by Merrill manager Jim Dickson.
Courtney McCarthy, a Merrill management training program grad with ten years of experience, replaces a 32-year industry veteran who is retiring at year-end in Providence, R.I.
New York broker fined $20,000 and suspended for six months by Finra resigned from Merrill three years ago following the firm’s $2.25 million settlement with hip hop star.
The Swiss bank is shifting more senior officials away from variable compensation models.
80-year-old client accuses Merrill of failing to supervise Miami broker who allegedly directed them to pour $4.5 million of retirement savings into a failing liquor store.
Merrill broker who generated $2.8 million in previous 12 months joins Wells in Houston the same day as $2.3-million UBS producer arrives at a Wells branch in St. Louis.
Merrill duo with $550 million book of assets is 40th team to join Rockefeller.
Wells Fargo Advisors head Jim Hays to add private bankers to his realm in an efficiency push that creates “one overarching management structure.”
Advisors at the four national “wirehouse” firms manage 124% more on average than do all industry advisors, according to Cerulli Associates.
UBS reported record third quarter profit of $371 million despite declines in revenue, net asset outflows and a continued decline in its advisor force.
Wells Fargo’s seesaw battle to rebuild its advisor force yields three million-dollar teams from rivals in California and Vermont despite net erosion in headcount.
J.P. Morgan Securities emigrees to RBC have 89 years of experience and a big book of music and entertainment clients, while its new arrivals had been with Morgan Stanley and predecessors for 87 years.
Wirehouse restricts prospecting of E*Trade customers to network of around 500 “high-quality” teams that already receive referrals from its workplace plan businesses.
Wells Fargo Advisors’ brokerage force fell by a net 390 in the third quarter, due largely to layoffs of “salary-and-bonus” advisors, a spokeswoman said.
The advisory teams First Republic has been attracting from traditional brokers helped drive a 20% increase in third-quarter assets.
Seeking to reduce disruption after a year turned upside down by the Covid-19 pandemic and market volatility, firms will not make major changes to next year’s comp plans, consultants say.
Arrival of $2 million producer on Friday followed Morgan Stanley’s recruiting of the previous week of a UBS broker in northern California.
Merrill Lynch Wealth has tapped a 13-year broker to lead its Dallas Galleria office, according to two sources familiar with the move.
Minneapolis-based Ameriprise recruits southern Florida advisor with 23 years of experience to its employee channel and 17-year San Francisco broker to its independent arm.
Arrival of 34-year veteran continues a slew of pandemic-era hiring that yielded RBC third-quarter recruits whose production was 112% higher than those who arrived in the year-ago quarter.
Bank will charge $35 monthly service fee as of November 8 on checking accounts below $150,000 in its mass affluent unit.
Customer quarterly fees will be based on average daily balances rather than on start-of-quarter assets in the interests of “accuracy and transparency,” UBS says.
Janney says new hire in Virginia was managing $300 million at Merrill, while RayJay says its Michigan recruit managing $115 million at Morgan Stanley moved for the “freedom to truly own and run my practice.”
Merrill shifts Southeast division executive Eric Schimpf to co-head advisor development programs with BofA consumer bank executive Matt Gellene to “ensure strong connectivity with the broader bank.”
Chip Walker has left his post as head of field strategy and execution at Wells Fargo Advisors and will not be replaced, according to people familiar with the move.
Regulator fines and suspends a California broker, despite his success in expunging allegations of purloining client information when he left Merrill for Raymond James.
Senior advisor had spent all of his 28-year career with the Thundering Herd in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
The agreement, expected to close in the first quarter next year, will give Washington D.C.-based Steward its first outpost on the West Coast with 23 advisors generating $15 million in revenue.
Two million-dollar brokers in Aventura join one week after Morgan Stanley hired dozens of advisors and support staff across the country from UBS and Merrill Lynch.
Regulator fines and suspends a novice broker who J.P. Morgan fired for moving customer money to higher-paying money market funds without authority and a senior former RayJay and UBS broker who took loans from a friend and customer without permission.
Raymond James reassured managers this week that in spite of companywide expense cuts, it will not fiddle with grids or other core parts of advisor pay in its employee channel.
Mike Abrams and his partner joined Ameriprise’s employee channel in Palo Alto on Wednesday with a client associate, ranking as its biggest hire by assets this year, a spokeswoman said.
Although broker took confidential information on a Wells client, he destroyed it and presents “no current threat” that would justify an injunction, judge rules.
Quarter-century Merrill veteran with $350-million book moves to advisory boutique founded last year by ex-Merrill complex manager Jim Hughes, ex-NYSE CEO Duncan Niederauer and ex-Blackstone banker James Didden.
Among the rush of seasoned brokers Morgan Stanley recruited from wirehouse competitors last week was a two-advisor UBS team in Beverly Hills said to be producing $4.2 million.
Morgan Stanley on Friday nabbed Merrill teams producing more than $10 million in New York and Fort Lauderdale.
Chicago broker dismissed from Morgan Stanley’s private client unit after he was pictured in an inappropriate social media posting lands at Raymond James’ high-net worth Alex. Brown unit.
Separately, UBS hired a novice broker to supplement a big Boston team and nabbed a bank-based broker in Ohio.
Florida-based firm says workforce reduction of close to 4% primarily affects corporate staff positions, and responds to economic conditions and rate cuts that wiped out half its earnings.
Lifetime Goldman advisor in Dallas shifts to manage and expand the powerful investment bank’s wealth businesses in the Pacific Northwest.
San Francisco-based bank recruits another broker from the firm that once owned it.
Mike Abrams, a nationally ranked Silicon Valley-based wealth manager at Wells Fargo Advisors, was dismissed last week over “conduct” standards, according to a bank filing with regulators.
Industrywide tradition of letting product providers wine and dine brokers and their clients is reversed by Merrill Lynch, which said employees must “avoid even the perception of a conflict of interest.”
Advisors were unable to wire funds or take notes on client accounts while self-directed clients had trouble trading.
The Minneapolis-based firm touts that it has recruited advisors representing a record $20 billion in assets year-to-date.
Broker, who was discharged in June for having an assistant complete mandatory training modules on his behalf, says he has learned his lesson.
Finra fines broker-dealer for failing to supervise advisors who unsuitably recommended VA sales to fund purchases of mutual and UITs that would generate additional commissions.
For the second time in two weeks, a federal judge rejected a brokerage firm’s claim that it would suffer “irreparable harm” if former brokers are not prevented from soliciting former clients to move their accounts.
Branch office administrator who claimed age discrimination and retaliation could not prove that she was forced to resign, judge rules.
Wells seeks restraining order against brokers it accuses of pre-soliciting clients to follow them prior to their move last week to RBC Wealth Management.
Four UBS brokers managing $1 billion were the stub of a sprawling stock-plan team that had split for Morgan Stanley last year.
St. Louis-based Stifel has staffed its Texas branches with almost two dozen Merrill advisors in the past two years.
Multiracial broker files lawsuit claiming he was fired at the age of 55 in retaliation for complaints about branch manager’s discriminatory behavior.
Oregon broker leaves Merrill after 43 years to start his own advisory firm while a broker with three years of experience jumped to Oppenheimer.
Morgan Stanley group with $400 million in client assets moved Friday, the same day that indie firm Sanctuary Wealth added a $4 million production and $500 million-asset team from Merrill.
Stifel landed a three-broker team in Texas and has hired a “community markets” manager from Merrill in Colorado to help recruit in the state and oversee an office.
The Swiss bank also hired a broker from Merrill to become its assistant market head for northern California, according to a memo seen by AdvisorHub
Ameriprise broker in Michigan wins dismissal of an earlier TRO granted almost two weeks ago while another Ameriprise broker in Virginia loses to TRO claim from Edward Jones.
After a six month delay aimed at providing brokers with relief from potential pay cuts during the fallout from the coronavirus, the firm confirmed it is moving forward with its grid adjustments as planned.
Michael Crook’s impending departure from UBS’ chief investment office comes amid other recent changes within the 200-person investment specialist team that seeks to identify investment opportunities and market risks for UBS advisors and HNW clients.
Jennifer MacPhee, who coordinated Merrill’s Financial Advisor Development Program for a little more than a year and also serves as a Bank of America’s market president, is leaving.
Finra fines wirehouse for failing to supervise now-barred Texas broker who encouraged customers to make hundreds of short-term bond and preferred trades that cost ten of them more than $900,000.
Broker who helped an individual trade stocks and options in a self-directed account at an outside firm is fined and suspended by Finra.
High-profile Washington State broker Phil Scott moved his 11-person team on Tuesday to First Republic.
Yearning to “drive the ship” himself after almost four decades at Merrill, broker managing $360 million for 56 families strikes out on his own.
The smallest of the wirehouses fills its deliberately shrinking hole with another nontraditional hire from a bank.
Hatch, who was reorganized out of a top UBS sales management job in December, has formed an asset management consulting firm with former BlackRock executive Frank Porcelli and former UBS Wealth planning head Jeff Miller.
Arizona broker who produced $1.1 million in the past year at BMO Harris joins wirehouse.
Largest independent broker-dealer expands its reach from independent brokers to traditional employed salespeople who it says can pocket payouts of 50% to 70%.
Magnifi, which lets investors select funds through simple word searches, doubles as a documentation tool for advisors to prove they meet fiduciary and best-interest obligations.
Continuing to prosecute sales violations involving short-term rollovers of unit investment trusts, Finra fines and suspends a 28-year broker in New Jersey.
Group of seven advisors and eight associates had overseen $1.7 billion in client assets and mark the fifth team to join First Republic this year.
Citing the global pandemic and its economic consequences, Florida-based firm outlines plans to cut costs broadly to generate “significant efficiencies.”
The St. Louis-based firm hired 22 brokers in June as it adapted to virtual recruiting following only one hire in April.
NYC broker who was discharged in May over compliance flubs has reunited with former UBS colleagues at their advisory firm Procyon Partners.
A three-decade Merrill veteran who was managing $419 million in assets joined Morgan Stanley in Ohio last Friday as the wirehouse has accelerated hiring.
Merrill Lynch Wealth president told managers this week that brokers who averaged 5.5 net new account openings last year should be able to raise the total to eight with the help of new technology.
Merrill solo practitioner with $120 million book joins Wells in Panhandle resort town while Advisor Group pair with $160 million in southwest Florida changes affiliation to LPL.
After almost two years of net withdrawals, UBS’ Americas clients have added $3.4 billion to their accounts in 2020.
Father-son team in New Jersey producing $3.5 million go RIA with Dynasty and Texas group with $1.75 million join Wells, but wirehouse lands $4 million Goldman broker in Philly
The continuing flow of experienced brokers out of Merrill Lynch, even during the coronavirus crisis, appears to have driven managers to offer their clients longer and deeper fee waivers than are typical, according to headhunters and competitors.
Bank of America and Merrill executives tout strength of household growth numbers and bank product sales as signs of underlying health.
Higher-than-expected credit provision bankwide hurts wealth unit, which also continued to dribble advisor headcount despite intensified recruiting efforts.
Stacy Allred, who guided Merrill’s richest clients on how to think about wealth, left after almost 20 years for First Republic while her former colleague Michael Liersch joined Wells Fargo after stint with J.P. Morgan.
Advisor with almost 25 years’ experience was managing $200 million at JPMorgan’s White Plains office.
Wirehouse alarmed some brokers Friday with a withdrawal of monthly pay, blames ADP for glitch
Federal judge turns down former top Indiana broker’s bid for compassionate early release from his 40-month sentence for securities fraud as a result of his vulnerability to Covid-19.
Allegations against one San Francisco broker included selling away, while both advisors appeared to let underlings complete mandatory training modules.
Janney lost its New York City complex head to independent firm, Merrill gives UBS manager in Florida a broader role heading a Louisiana complex.
UBS brokers in Ohio, Florida and Maryland collectively managing about $850 million of client assets leave for firms affiliated with RayJay, Wells and Kestra.
Veteran Atlanta manager Walter Jameson shifts to run a new complex, handing some of his former duties to a manager who rejoined Morgan Stanley from RBC Wealth.
The short “relationship summaries” customers are receiving to comply with the Regulation Best Interest complex of rules that become effective today vary in mentioning whether brokers receive bonuses for moving assets from their former firms.
Steve Heng, who had been managing around $350 million at a bank branch, joined Baird on Monday, less than two months after his forced exit from Wells.
In other shifts from big to small, father-daughter team at Merrill in New Jersey join Janney Montgomery and a $400-million Merrill duo in Ohio join an RIA founded by a former colleague.
Wirehouse will allow brokers in about 8% of its branches to return to their offices after four months of working from home, but like many companies is unlikely to open in densely populated areas until 2021, executives say.
UBS veterans in Alabama joined Wells Fargo Advisors on Tuesday following shift of Florida UBS team to start an RIA on Friday.
Steward, which has recruited primarily from wirehouses, lures independent brokers from Advisor Group to its new “affiliate channel” with an alternate payout plan.
Family team at J.P. Morgan Securities overseeing $385 million responds to wirehouse’s revived appetite for recruiting.
Accuses Alexandra VanMeurs, whose team managed $420 million, of violating employment, training and account transition agreements by soliciting clients and moving $97 million since leaving last month.
Almost three months after it suspended in-person client meetings, the St. Louis-based firm is allowing around 10% of its approximately 300 regions to re-open their doors to the public.
Rock-bottom interest rates mean a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars and wealth profit decline, but Morgan Stanley’s Gorman is upbeat about recovery and expansion of wealth management.
To avoid 1% payout cut, Merrill lowers brokers’ new account requirement to three households for 2020, and one as of June 30, acknowledging impact of Covid-19 constrictions.
Three teams, who all moved this week, had been managing more than $1.5 billion in client assets.
Rules that the firm’s disclosures about cash sweep rates were sufficient for self-directed Merrill Edge investors but leaves door open for a potential refiling on suitability issues.
Settles with Finra by agreeing to reimburse customers for failing to give fee rebates and sales charge waivers on mutual fund sales over six years.
While wirehouse rivals have restricted brokers’ ability to collect mutual fund trail commissions in anticipation of Regulation Best Interest, Wells is comfortable with its current policies.
Social-distancing rules preventing brokers from being reimbursed for unrealized T&E expense leads firm to discontinue deductions as of September.
Firm advances its foray into Texas by hiring its second multi-million-dollar team in the Lone Star state in two weeks.
Bank of America-owned broker creates new roles and titles to encourage sales associates to take on broader roles and consider becoming advisors.
Brokers are concerned they won’t be reimbursed for money deducted as a pretax benefit from their pay because of Covid-19 restrictions on trips, meals and other entertainment.
Houston’s Alexandra VanMeurs was the second multi-million-dollar woman producer to join Morgan Stanley from UBS in the past week.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s crackdown on allegedly shoddy sales of Unit Investment Trusts hit Stifel Nicolaus on Thursday, which agreed to pay more than $3.6 million for issues related to premature UIT rollovers.
Stock market gains haven’t changed Merrill clients’ retreat to low-yielding cash deposit accounts, says Merrill Wealth President Andy Sieg.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused Goldman to slow down plans to expand its wealth force and to introduce a new digital service for less wealthy investors.
Four advisors who were overseeing $1.3 billion left the wirehouse on Friday, ahead of the long holiday weekend.
The expanding New York firm led by former wirehouse executive Greg Fleming nabs its first Houston advisor and also on Friday hired a $1.5-million broker in Atlanta from Morgan Stanley.
Finra fined and suspended a Michigan broker for 21-months for failing to notify the firm he was running a video gaming “esports” franchise along with a Merrill client.
The firm is realigning divisional and regional leadership as it separates Chase’s wealth management and brokerage operations from its consumer banking business.
Regions Bank loses motion for a preliminary injunction against $3.5-million Florida team who it had accused of opportunism in moving during the coronavirus crisis.
A best-in-state broker who Forbes says managed $350 million at a bank branch allegedly withdrew money from his bank account on six days in December to avoid anti-money laundering reporting requirements, Wells tells regulators.
New Jersey brokers are the second team to join LPL’s Strategic Wealth Services channel aimed at brokers from large employee-model firms.
Ron Meraz, who had been a regional and complex manager at UBS since 2008, has moved north from Los Angeles to oversee Merrill’s Silicon Valley offices.
Former Indiana broker who is serving 40 months for securities fraud says his medical history puts him at high risk of complications from covid-19 if he remains imprisoned.
To help brokers sustain themselves during Covid-19 economy, firm servicing middle-class investors offers zero-interest loans to brokers whose production has sunk below 80% of trailing-12 month average.
The economic impact of Covid-19 affecting all firms could be particularly harmful to the careers of Edward Jones’ largely homegrown workforce of single-office advisors servicing middle-class Americans.
Cheryl Vozzella, a Bank of America and Merrill Lynch veteran, has taken the reins of a Morgan Stanley branch in Boston with more than 100 advisors producing about $200 million in revenue.
The former head of Merrill Lynch and UBS Financial’s sales forces will now hawk the virtues of independence at Steward Partners.
Gina Sorrells takes reins of J.P. Morgan’s Atlanta region after overseeing seven Merrill branches in Virginia, while Mike Maron relinquishes Chicago regional post for a regulatory policy role in New York.
The deal is the second investment this year for the Chicago-based firm at a time when M&A transactions are in decline.
Delays for three months higher revenue hurdles to qualify for team-production pay and eliminates plan raise criteria this year for “recognition” trips and other “council” perqs.
Morgan Stanley nabs Merrill broker in Georgia, Wells hires Morgan Stanley broker in Texas while losing a branch manager there to independence.
The move is the third within a week that the Royal Bank of Canada unit confirmed amid the chaos of the coronavirus crisis.
Thundering Herd advisor joins firm founded by Merrill veterans while RBC nets a former Goldman wealth advisor who had been with Wells less than four years.
Smaller base of brokers brought in $3.3 billion of net new assets as clients looked for yield in structured products, while asset-based fees were calculated on quarter-opening balances before the economy halted.
Federal judge in Florida says Regions Bank misleadingly said it was responsible for originating most of $3.8-million team’s book and inaccurately portrayed clients’ loyalty to them.
Cetera Financial Group, the 8,000-advisor independent broker whose credit outlook was downgraded recently, has cut several senior managers in recent weeks amid a broad “organizational realignment.”
Judge enforces 14-day non-solicitation ban against new Raymond James brokers who allegedly used their former firm’s confidential data to solicit clients.
LPL’s ‘Strategic Wealth Services’ platform provides more operational support at slightly lower payouts to advisors than its conventional offering.
The wirehouse team is at least the second to join RBC in Wisconsin this year, following a $1.8-billion former Merrill Lynch team that joined in Green Bay in February.
Merrill and two others settle charges of selling mutual fund shares with expensive 12b-1 fees, concluding U.S. program that granted leniency to firms that self-reported their violations.
Michael Goldfader, who left UBS as part of a reorganization in December, will run southern California operations of a new high-net-worth group within Wells.
Officials said virus-influenced asset declines and interest rate cuts will handicap earnings following a record revenue quarter (excluding accounting adjustments).
Firm also will cap front-end fund loads, restrict buyers of structured notes and market-linked products and create uniform commissions by fund styles.
The firm is temporarily backtracking on a policy implemented in November to eliminate payouts on sub-$100,000 accounts.
A former branch office administrator alleges that she faced retaliation after reporting allegedly dismissive remarks from her boss.
Arbitrator says former broker in Illinois must honor promissory note obligations but permits a separate military discrimination claim outside to proceed.
Chicago broker, 68, says he left his longtime broker-dealer out of concern about its parent company’s sale to a private equity firm.
Advisors this month will be able to make a one-time payment from their own earnings to associates who are facing challenges as a result of the coronavirus remote-work situation.