Merrill Lynch shakes up wealth management organization, leadership roles

Merrill Lynch told its 14,600 advisers Wednesday that it was instituting a broad restructuring of its wealth management group to meet its goals-based strategy and to operate more effectively as a business. In a memo, Andy Sieg, head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, outlined the executive changes, which tapped two division executives, Don Plaus and Ben Prince, for new leadership roles and also cut the number of divisions for its advisers to six from the current 10. Mr. Plaus will lead Merrill's Private Banking & Investment Group — PBIG — and its international unit. The PBIG group is "highly-valued by many of our highest-net worth clients," Mr. Sieg wrote in the memo. Meanwhile, Mr. Prince will have a leadership role focused on smaller offices in community markets, according to the memo. "There is a set of nearly 150 smaller offices that represent in aggregate a significant market opportunity," Mr. Sieg wrote. "We want to better understand the markets these offices serve and ensure they are appropriately staffed and supported. We expect to see the results of the strategy efforts this summer." The six divisions and their heads are: Northeast, Bill Lorenz; Mid-Atlantic, Lindsay DeNardo Hans; Southeast, Eric Schimpf; Midwest, Paul Lambert; Texas Mountain South, Vince Fertitta; and West, Jeff Markham. Mike Adornetto, a Merrill Lynch wealth management veteran, will be returning as chief operating officer of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, according to the memo. Recently, he has served as an executive in the consumer bank and global banking and markets operations. "In one major shift, we're giving him overall responsibility for our client associates, the 6,500 professionals who most directly support both advisers and clients," Mr. Sieg noted. He will also be responsible for financial adviser desktop and client online and mobile strategies. And Hong Ogle will be the head of an expanded adviser development program. "Now more than ever we are committed to investing in our financial adviser training program to ensure that our clients are in good hands into the future," Mr. Sieg wrote.