INsider: Exiting Merrill team didn't like BofA answers, source says

The high-powered team of Merrill Lynch financial advisers who left for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC this week were apparently not satisfied with a discussion they had recently with senior Bank of America executives. According to executive recruiter Rick Peterson, several of the team members, led by 30-year Merrill veteran Harvey Kadden, asked for an audience with corporate bigwigs to discuss issues regarding the brokerage and its relationship with the bank. “My sources told me that these advisers had posed some questions to Bank of America executives and were not happy with the answers they got,” said Mr. Peterson. He did not have details on the matters discussed. A BofA Merrill Lynch spokeswoman confirmed the departure of the five individuals but declined to comment further. The five-man team consisted of Harvey Kadden, Mihir Patel, Randy Knopp, Tim Baker and Chris Barber, all of whom worked in the World Financial Center — Merrill's headquarters in New York City. They managed in excess of $1 billion and generated $14 million in revenue over the past 12 months, according to MSSB spokeswoman Christine Pollak. Their move is one of the highest-profile defections of top wirehouse advisers this year. Earnings reports released last week show that MSSB continues to have the largest adviser force in the industry, with 17,291 as of the end of September. Merrill Lynch is second in the industry with 16,722. For the updated set of wirehouse rankings and breakdowns with third-quarter figures, click here.