Merrill poaches MSSB insurance exec

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has snagged an executive from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC to run its insurance and annuities business. Michael Maghini joined Morgan Stanley in 2006 after working for Smith Barney and its merger partners for 15 years. He served as head of distribution, annuity and insurance services with the firm until 2009. His last position with Morgan Stanley was senior vice president and complex business development manager. Mr. Maghini's diverse background in financial services was a key factor behind his recruitment to Merrill, said David Tyrie, a managing director and head of personal wealth and retirement for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “Mike has been involved in financial planning, in platform development roles and in product roles. These are the prerequisites we wanted as we go to market with retirement solutions,” he said. Mr. Tyrie expects annuities and insurance products to become increasingly important for individuals and service providers as the population ages. “Market demand is going to be around wealth management as opposed to just wealth accumulation,” he said. “This isn't a one-product business; it's about looking at the entire client and figuring out how products and services work together for people. Mike is going to drive this for us.” Mr. Maghini succeeds John Mulhall, who left Merrill in July for Ohio National Financial Services Inc. He will start in his new position Oct. 1 and report to Mr. Tyrie.