U.S. Capital picks up more high-producing UBS reps

U.S. Capital Advisors LLC has picked up a $600 million team from UBS Financial Services Inc. — the second high-producing team the firm has picked up from UBS in the last six weeks. Partners David Harris and Ann Deaton joined Houston-based U.S. Capital, an independent hybrid firm, together with three support staff. "We thought [the move] was best for our clients," Mr. Harris said. U.S. Capital has a "far more robust [investment] platform … especially in the alternatives area." UBS spokesman Kris Kagel declined to comment about the Harris team, but said in an email that the firm has been beefing up its alternatives offering, and in September hired Jerry Pascucci away from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney to head its alternatives unit. The change also provided an "opportunity to build something new and have equity in it," said Mr. Harris, whose team produced about $3 million in annual revenue at UBS. U.S. Capital was founded by Pat Mendenhall, a former UBS branch manager. Mr. Mendenhall retired from UBS in August 2009 and has said his departure was driven by the financial crisis as well as changes at the firm. He achieved some notoriety in 2002, when it was first reported that he fired one of his brokers at UBS PaineWebber, Chung Wu, after Mr. Wu told clients in an e-mail in August 2001 to sell their Enron Corp. stock — well before problems at the company were widely known. Mr. Mendenhall’s new firm now has about $1 billion under management, and is looking to expand outside of Houston. Mr. Harris said he and Mr. Mendenhall have been friends for 25 years, dating back to when both worked at the old Drexel Burnham Lambert firm.