Morgan Stanley nabs $6.5B Merrill Lynch private wealth team

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has kicked off the recruiting year with the high profile hire of a trio of elite Bank of America Merrill Lynch advisers in Chicago.
Veteran Merrill advisers Linda J. Stephans, Kristina Van Liew and Erik Oiler, who led a team of nine as part of Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking and Investment Group, a specialized unit for around 150 teams working with ultra-wealthy clients, jumped to Morgan Stanley on Friday, according to registration records with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Together they managed at least $6.5 billion in client assets for wealthy individuals as well as institutional clients, according to multiple people familiar with their practice.
The amount of assets under management custodied at Merrill Lynch was likely around $1.8 billion because some of the institutional assets that were advised on, such as retirement plans, may have been held at another provider, one of those people said.
The three advisers, who also share a work history at The Northern Trust Co., comprised “one of the largest and most reputable institutional practices” at Merrill Lynch, according a description posted on the team’s page on Merrill Lynch’s website. The team, comprising nine individuals including financial analysts and associates, served investors with more than $10 million in assets, including family offices, high net worth individuals, endowments and other institutional clients, according to the page, which has since been taken down.
Another team member, Niesha Parekh, who was a senior financial analyst, also moved to Morgan Stanley on Friday, records show. Records still show others on the team as remaining at Merrill Lynch. No one from the team was available for comment.
Ms. Stephans had been at Merrill Lynch since 2001, according to Finra records. Mr. Oiler had been at the firm since 1998, and Ms. Van Liew joined Merrill Lynch in 2006.
The move is the latest in a series of sizeable teams to leave Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
In November, another former Merrill Lynch PBIG adviser James Hulburd jumped to UBS Wealth Management Americas in Walnut Creek, Calif., having managed some $1.5 billion in assets.
In September, Morgan Stanley hired a $4.5 billion team of seven, who operate as the Brice Group, from Merrill Lynch’s institutional consulting group.
Merrill Lynch had around 14,000 advisers at the end of the third quarter.
Christine Jockle, a spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley, confirmed the move. Merrill Lynch spokeswoman Ana Katherine Sollitto confirmed the team’s departure but declined to comment further.

Related Topics: Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley & Co.