Another MSSB complex manager exits

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC has lost another top manager in New York. This morning, Michael Simonds, senior vice president and complex manager for the One New York Plaza branch, resigned. Industry sources said Mr. Simonds was moving to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Selena Morris, a spokeswoman for that company, did not return a call requesting confirmation. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s One New York Plaza branch has more than 100 reps and advisers. Mr. Simonds, 40, was an 18 year veteran of the firm, and has lived through three separate mergers and acquisitions during his tenure. This month, he was named one of the 10 “branch managers of the year” by On Wall Street, a trade publication. In an interview with the magazine, he said he was sensitive to employees’ anxieties around the time Smith Barney merged with Morgan Stanley last year. "While senior management at both firms did a fine job of listening and communicating, I wanted to be sure my advisers were as comfortable as possible with all the new policies, procedures or available products," he said. Of late, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has seen several of its top managers in New York jump to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In February, Jimmy Tighe left the firm to join BofA Merrill. Mr. Tighe, one of the top lieutenants of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney president Charles Johnston, had been picked to run its New York City regional operation in April 2009, when Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney integrated their brokerage operations to create 20 regions. Christine Pollack, a spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, confirmed Mr. Simonds’ departure. She said that the firm had “no concern” about losing New York area managers to rivals. “We have a deep management bench,” she said.