Advisers on the Move: One firm dominated the third quarter

In the last three months, the InvestmentNews Advisers on the Move database has tracked more than 60 teams of advisers that have changed firms - but a clear handful stand out from the pack. The ten largest moves (as determined by their assets at the time of departure) of the third quarter involved advisers who oversee, combined, $7.6 billion, according to our database. One firm - HighTower Advisers - added four new teams or individual advisers that ranked in the top 10 and oversaw $3.4 billion combined. (See the full top ten list here.) The most notable addition during the quarter for HighTower was the team of Paul A. Pagnato and David W. Karp, who joined the firm from Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group in Washington D.C. (Click here for more info on the duo.) Combined, Mr. Pagnato and Mr. Karp. advised on $1.3 billion in client assets. Not far behind the Pagnato-Karp Group, with the second largest move of the quarter was Margaret Towle, who joined - you guessed it - HighTower. Ms. Towle, who was named one of the Top 50 Women in Wealth by Bloomberg, joined HighTower in August from Greycourt, where she oversaw $1 billion for wealthy individuals and endowments. (Clear here for more info on Ms. Towle.) Bank of America Merrill Lynch also added a $1 billion adviser in the third quarter, in a tie with Ms. Towle for the second largest Adviser on the Move during the three-month period. David Massey joined Merrill in July from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, where he generated $1.2 million in production off of $1 billion in assets. To see the rest of the largest moves of the quarter, click here. And to view the entire database, which contains info on more than 400 advisers and teams that have changed firms, click here. A note about the Advisers on the Move database: All of the moves tracked in this database have either been reported by InvestmentNews or other media outlets, or were directly submitted to InvestmentNews and confirmed by public records checks. To be included, an adviser or team must have at least $50 million in assets. The database does not purport to provide a complete picture of all recruiting activity in the financial advisory industry; rather, it aims to represent a significant sample of activity in the industry. If we have missed any moves that should be included in the database, InvestmentNews will review and include if the information can be confirmed and minimum criteria for inclusion is met. Feel free to submit a move here. --M.B.