Displaying items by tag: recruiting

Merrill Lynch scooped up a four-person Citi Private Bank team that manages $1 billion in client assets. The team, which is based in Connecticut and New York is led by Frank A. Falco, who will be based out of Merrill’s Great Neck office on Long Island. The rest of the team includes Kevin C. Condon, John R. Huber, and Alexandra Maksimow, who will be based out of its Stamford, Connecticut office. Members of the team joined Merrill Lynch on a staggered schedule over the past couple of months after serving out their garden leave terms. Falco spent 22 of his 25 years in the industry with Citi. He started his career at Gaines, Berland Inc. in 1997. Condon had been with Citi for the previous seven years and started his career in 1992 as a portfolio manager with U.S. Trust. Huber had been with Citi since 2007 and started in the business at Prime Capital Services in 2005. Maksimow began her Citi career in 2012 as a credit analyst in the commercial bank before switching to the private bank in 2016. The move is noteworthy since the team is coming from the private banking channel and not the wealth management channel. However, Merrill has occasionally pulled in other salaried private bankers in recent years despite its freeze on veteran broker recruiting since 2017.

Finsum:Merrill Lynch nabbed a $1 billion team from Citi Private Bank despite its freeze on veteran broker recruiting. 

According to a recent Charles Schwab RIA Benchmarking Study, talent is the top strategic priority for RIAs. This matches a Talent Management Study from San Francisco-based RIA consultancy DeVoe & Co., which showed recruiting is the biggest concern RIAs face today concerning talent. A recent Barron’s article highlighted the challenges RIA face when recruiting advisors. Firms are facing headwinds such as a rapidly aging workforce, a lack of young advisors to take over, loss of talent from the Great Resignation, and competition from mega financial firms. Barron’s highlighted the fact that over one-third of advisors are likely to retire within the next 10 years according to a study by Cerulli Associates. In addition, according to a survey by Ameriprise Financial, advisory firms currently have an average of three open positions at their firms. Some RIAs are turning to college students to fill the talent gap as the competition for experienced advisors is immense, while others are recruiting from banks and offering perks such as firm equity, high cash compensation, and generous payouts.

Finsum:Due to an aging workforce and strong competition, recruiting is a top priority for many RIA firms.

RBC Wealth Management’s aggressive recruiting has landed another team. The firm was able to lure Coatoam Wealth Management Group, a $560 million team, away from Merrill Lynch. The team, which is led by Managing Director Brian Coatoam, is joining RBC in their new office in Winter Park, FL. Coatoam has been in the industry for 24 years. He got his start with Advantage Trading Group and worked for Morgan Stanley before joining Merrill Lynch. He leads a six-person team, which includes two Certified Financial Planners, Derek Grimm, and Ryan Plank. RBC, like many firms, is pushing expansion in Florida as the state lures more wealthy investors due to a lack of income and capital gains taxes. RBC had previously announced a father-son advisor team joining its office in Palm Gardens and in January the firm recruited a $1 billion Florida team from Truist.

Finsum:With more wealthy investors moving to Florida, RBC continues its aggressive expansion in the state by recruiting a $560 million Merrill Lynch team.

It was only eight months ago that LPL was beginning a pilot program where they would test separately managed accounts, but now they are jumping in full force by allowing investors SMA strats in their Model Wealth Portfolios platform. This platform has grown to $83 billion in assets in recent years. These models will range in variety and flavor as well with some being developed by LPL while others will be from third-party managers. This strategy helps LPL give institutional-type options to everyday investors with lower fees.

Finsum: Models are moving from a buzzword to an important option for advisors.

Wells Fargo’s recruiting efforts have been no secret, but it looks like it is starting to pay off. In Q1 of 2022 they brought in over $5.4 billion in assets under management. Wells had seen advisors flee as a result of various public scandals in the last few years. They had lost 1.5% of their advisors in Q4 of 2021 and 8.5% in the whole year prior. The firm has said they are more pleased with their recruiting efforts as of late, but they are still putting forth efforts in the hiring process to retain and recruit advisors.

Finsum: Wells Fargo may be turning a new leaf and the bonuses related to advisor recruiting and retention are bringing in more assets.