$1.8B Merrill team hops to Wells Fargo's FiNet

An 11-person advisory group overseeing more than $1.8 billion in client assets has left Merrill Lynch to launch an independent practice with Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network in Melville, New York.

The move plugs a large Long Island wealth team into Wells Fargo’s independent channel as the firm continues an aggressive courtship of billion-dollar ensembles.

Operating as Infinity Private Wealth, the group is led by advisors Gianluca Palermo and Nicholas Frangas, both of whom have appeared on Forbes’ “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” lists from 2022 through 2025.

According to their BrokerCheck records, Palermo has been in the industry for nearly two decades, while Frangas has been in the business slightly longer with 25 years under his belt.

They are joined by advisors Charles Donnelly, Marc Stenzler, Sheena Marr, John Mulligan, Vincent Parziale and Thomas Houlihan, along with support staffers Maureen Mack, Tina Nystedt and Christina Panouis.

The team reportedly produced $10.3 million in trailing revenue over the past 12 months.

In a statement, FiNet president John Tyers framed the move as a bet on independence supported by a large-firm platform.

Tyers said Infinity Private Wealth “chose to start their independent practice and affiliate with Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network” and described the team as “steadfast in their dedication to serving clients.”

He added that FiNet’s combination of an independent model with specialty wealth services and planning support is intended to help the group grow while maintaining what he called an “exceptional client experience.”

The Long Island hire comes just days after Wells Fargo Advisors revealed another billion-dollar-plus addition, this time to its private client group in Dallas. In late December, a three-person ultra-high-net-worth team led by financial advisors Paul Cooke and Jake Trousdale joined from Citigroup, bringing $1.2 billion in assets and $3.4 million in trailing 12-month revenue.

Also last month, Wells Fargo pulled off its largest advisor conversion by assets for 2025 by welcoming Hingham Street Partners, a $6.3 billion multigenerational team from UBS.

It also unveiled a raft of other hires from Texas, New York, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, totaling nearly $1.5 billion across its employee and independent channels.