HighTower adds adviser recruiters from Fidelity, UBS

HighTower Advisors LLC, a dually-registered firm that has been successful in luring talent from wirehouses, today announced that it is furthering its expansion efforts by hiring two recruiters who will focus on the Midwest and Western regions of the country. Michael Papedis, a former vice president of sales at Fidelity Investments, will be a director at HighTower, based in the firm's headquarters in Chicago, where he will be responsible for adviser recruiting and business development in the Midwest. MeeSun Boice, who comes to HighTower from UBS AG where she was Northwest region talent leader, will be based in San Francisco and will focus on recruiting efforts in California. HighTower also announced a promotion today. Kristin Love, who was manager of trading at HighTower, is now director of trading and operations, and she will manage the fixed-income team. Since HighTower was formed in 2007, it has been successful in attracting brokers by offering them an ownership share in the firm and also by introducing them to multiple custodians and clearing houses. Fidelity, Mr. Papedis' former employer, is HighTower's primary custodian. HighTower currently comprises 12 advisory teams, according to its website. One of its most recent hires, late last month, was Barnaby Levin, who had been a director of wealth management at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC and is now based in the HighTower's San Francisco office. In February, HighTower recruited a $5.5 billion team from Morgan Stanley, out of Westchester County, New York, to which Morgan Stanley responded with a lawsuit. The issue is to be decided in arbitration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. Hightower reportedly has $16 billion in client assets.,