Bank of America taps AllianceBernstein’s Shalett as new investment chief

AllianceBernstein LP named Sharon Fay, a 20-year company veteran, chief investment officer of equities to replace Lisa Shalett.

Ms. Shalett, who at one time was chairman and chief executive of Sanford C. Bernstein LLC, is moving to Bank of America to become chief investment officer of Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management. She will be responsible for global investment strategy, and will also oversee the retail brokerage giant’s ultra high-net-worth investment office, which develops “institutional-caliber” investment policies, asset allocation and portfolio solutions for wealth clients.

At AllianceBernstein, Ms. Fay has been head of value stocks since 2009.

“Sharon is an experienced investor with a proven track record of delivering superior investment results for our clients,” Peter Kraus, AllianceBernstein’s chief executive officer, said in the statement.

Bank of America’s Kunal S. Kamlani, head of global investment solutions, said in a competing statement that Ms. Shalett’s “intellectual acumen and proven leadership skills make he ideally suited to lead our efforts in working with clients to help achieve their goals through objective investment advice and guidance.”

AllianceBernstein, which managed $458 billion as of June 30, is majority-owned by French insurer Axa SA. A minority stake is owned by the publicly listed AllianceBernstein Holding LP, which declined 4.8% this year through July 23, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.