Merrill loses $800 million private banking team

Two advisers from Merrill Lynch's elite Private Banking and Investment Group parted ways with the firm in mid-August with a reported $800 million in assets. The advisers, Russell Norwood and George Clarke, teamed up to start a new registered investment adviser, Venturi Wealth Management in Austin, Texas. Mr. Norwood and Mr. Clarke, who declined to comment on their departure, are serving as managing director and director of investments, respectively, at their new firm. They are joined by financial adviser Robert Rinner, who had been with Merrill Lynch for a year, according to registration records. Before Merrill Lynch, Mr. Rinner led an investment advisory and financial consulting firm working with high net worth clients and companies at RR Investment Advisory & Northstar Insight. (See InvestmentNews' complete Advisers on the move database) Mr. Norwood was a long-time Merrill Lynch veteran and spent more than 23 years at the firm. He was most recently working as a managing director and private wealth adviser for their Private Banking Investments Group, a group of around 150 brokerage teams working with ultra-wealthy clients. (More: Merrill fires back at $870 million defectors) In Mr. Clarke's 21 years at Merrill Lynch he served as vice president and wealth management adviser at PBIG and 18 years working in institutional equities research sales. The two had around $800 million in assets, according to Barron's Top Financial Advisers of 2015 List. A spokeswoman for Merrill Lynch, Susan Atran, did not respond to a request for comment.