$450M Big Apple team leaves MSSB, hitches up with Wells

A team of three advisers with trailing 12 month production of $3.5 million and managing $450 million in assets has left Morgan Stanley Smith Barney for Wells Fargo Advisors LLC. The New York City-based team of Gregg Lazarescu, Donovan Mannato and Michael Nutt does financial planning and investment management for wealthy individuals, foundations and non-profit organizations, small businesses, trusts and estates. A large number of the team's clients work in the entertainment business and/or are part the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. The team will move from Morgan's midtown office to Wells' Liberty Plaza space in Lower Manhattan. All three men started their careers with Chase Investment Services Corp. Mr. Lazarescu and Mr. Mannato moved to Morgan Stanley as a team in early 2006, and were joined by Mr. Nutt six months later. The team provides a range of services, including investment management, retirement planning, estate and business succession planning, and lending. “We felt it was a more stable environment at Wells Fargo. Our clients like the idea of having their assets at a AAA rated bank,” said Mr. Nutt. “With all the bad publicity and press on the industry, you don't hear Wells Fargo in the news much. And that's good.” Moody's Investors Service has indicated it may lower Morgan Stanley's credit rating by as much as three notches this month. Mr. Nutt was a member of the MSSB Diversity board and was co-chair of the firm's Pride Network. He was also a member of the board of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for six years. He said Wells Fargo's early involvement with the Accredited Domestic Partnership Advisor (ADPA) certification program gives it a leg up in the LGBT community. “The LGBT community is very brand loyal. If they see a company sponsoring events and doing things in the community, they're more apt to do business with the firm,” said Mr. Nutt. A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney confirmed the moves, but declined to comment further.