Merrill adds a few heavyweights to herd

A team of financial advisers managing $261 million in assets, with more than $2 million in production, left Citigroup Global Markets Inc. to join Merrill Lynch Wealth Management last Friday. Jose Fernandez and Juan Aleman both worked in a Los Angeles office for Citigroup but will work out of San Diego for Merrill. Mr. Fernandez got his start in the business in Virginia with Capital Brokerage Corp. in 2003, according to his profile on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.'s BrokerCheck website. He joined Citigroup in early 2005. Mr. Aleman joined Citi in 2006, working in the firm's Long Island City, N.Y., office before moving to L.A. in 2007. Citigroup did not immediately confirm the departure of the two advisers. Merrill Lynch also announced the recruiting of two advisers from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. The team of Ryan Baker and Stuart Hamm joined Merrill's Florence, Ala., office Jan. 18. The two had production of $1.3 million, managing just under $131 million in assets. MSSB spokeswoman Christy Pollack did not immediately confirm that the two advisers had left the firm.