Reunion continues as UBS snags Merrill advisers with $2.5B in AUM

The wealth management unit of UBS AG continues to show momentum recruiting big-producing financial advisers from competitors — most notably Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. The company on Friday announced the hiring of eight teams of advisers and several individual advisers. All told, the group manages just under $3 billion in assets and produced a combined $16.75 million in fees and commissions in the trailing-12-month period. Twenty of the 23 financial advisers were hired within the last two weeks, and 14 of them came from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. UBS' wealth management leaders Robert McCann and Robert Mulholland formerly worked at Merrill. In total, the Merrill Lynch advisers coming aboard at UBS manage $2.5 billion and had trailing-12-month production of $14.65 million, according to UBS. Many of the Merrill advisers had been with the firm for more than 20 years. Merrill Lynch Wealth Management spokeswoman Selena Morris confirmed the departures. “To the longtime Merrill advisers, Mr. McCann and Mr. Mulholland speak to the glory days of Merrill Lynch — pre-Stanley O'Neal,” said Danny Sarch, president of recruiting firm Leitner Sarch Consultants Ltd., speaking of the former Merrill president. “They're not ivory tower managers. They're seen as regular guys — approachable and responsive.” The Merrill teams and advisers are joining UBS offices in California, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey and Texas. Merrill's office in Newport Beach, Calif., was hit particularly hard, with Margaret Baldwin, a 31-year Merrill veteran, and the team of Robert Reckinger and James Loynes signing on with UBS on Jan. 13 and Jan. 19, respectively. Ms. Baldwin, along with partner Michael Naples, who will join UBS' Pasadena, Calif., office, manage more than $470 million and had production of approximately $2.4 million. The Reckinger/Loynes group had trailing-12-month production of $1.3 million managing assets of $387 million. The recruitment last week of Jacques Kuchta, who had been with Merrill Lynch since 1988, and Scott Curole, 1999, was also a major coup for UBS. The New Orleans team managed $650 million in assets and had annual production of $2.4 million. Nine of the 23 adviser hires by UBS were from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, including Lucie Sabella in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Jamie Rosica and Alex DiMartini in Melville, N.Y., the team of Marc Hagger and Ricardo Lima in Dallas, and a team of three advisers — Terri Yeckley, Allison Smoot and Elizabeth Nielson — based in Salt Lake City and working under the name Sage Group. Production numbers for the Sage Group were not disclosed. Combined production for the other advisers from MSSB was $3.3 million on assets under management of $466 million. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney spokeswoman Christy Pollak could not immediately confirm the departures.