J.P. Morgan loses advisers with a combined $7 billion in client assets

J.P. Morgan Chase has lost five advisers and nearly $7 billion in client assets to Wells Fargo Advisors and UBS in rapid succession. Tuesday, Wells Fargo Advisors announced that financial adviser Christopher Hill will join the firm as senior vice president of wealth brokerage services in Miami. Mr. Hill joined J.P. Morgan's investment bank in 2008, specializing in energy and biotech transactions, and later switched to J.P. Morgan Private Bank, where he managed money for ultra-high-net-worth clients. He oversaw nearly $2 billion in client assets. “Wells Fargo Advisors' strong reputation, its commitment to technology enhancements to improve the client experience, and its lack of bias towards third party asset managers in both traditional and alternative spaces, is a perfect fit for the clients I advise,” Mr. Hill said in a news release. (See InvestmentNews' complete Advisers on the Move database) In addition to that loss, J.P. Morgan is facing the departure of a team with about $5 billion in client assets to UBS Wealth Management Americas. The New York-based team, composed of brokers Alli McCartney, Miguel Hennessy, David Wardrop and Jordan Mahaffey, manages money for ultra-high-net-worth clients, foundations and endowments. The group's clients include several senior executives in the financial services, hedge fund, technology and media industries, according to UBS spokesman Gregg Rosenberg. Mr. Hennessy joined J.P. Morgan in 2007 following 13 years at Morgan Stanley. Prior to working at J.P. Morgan, 16-year industry veteran Ms. McCartney led the equity and fund derivatives desks at Lehman Brothers and Neuberger Berman. Messrs. Mahaffey and Wardrop moved to J.P. Morgan after working in wealth management at Merrill Lynch's private banking group. A J.P. Morgan spokesman was not available for comment.