Merrill Lynch brokers with $800 million in assets leave for Janney Montgomery

Janney Montgomery Scott has picked up a team of brokers from Bank of America Merrill Lynch that manages about $800 million of assets for individual investors. The group, which is called Seaport Wealth Management, works with almost 900 households from offices in Mystic and West Hartford, Conn. The team includes Ken Griffen, Paul Vaida, Royden Grimm, Barry Saluk and Jared Bloxsom. Four paraplanners and administrative professionals are joining the financial advisers in their move to Janney, an independent unit of Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co. (More: See all the latest moves in the InvestmentNews Advisers on the Move database) Mr. Griffen, Mr. Vaida and Mr. Bloxsom had been with Merrill since 2006, according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.'s BrokerCheck. Mr. Grimm started at Merrill in 2007 and Mr. Saluk in 2008. “We've become a destination for advisory teams who want to succeed in a boutique, regional environment,” said Jerry Lombard, president of Janney's private client group. He also pointed to the firm's “stability, agility to adapt, and responsiveness to client needs.”