UBS nabs $1.3B Tampa advisory team from BofA

UBS has hired a four-advisor private wealth team from Bank of America Private Bank in Tampa, Florida, adding roughly $1.3 billion in client assets as the Swiss lender continues to rebuild its footprint among wealthy American households.

Jesse Flatt, Lea Ann Drew, Brandon Burns and Carlos Rodriguez will be joining UBS's Greater Florida/Gulf Coast Market, reporting to Tampa Bay Senior Market Director Jack Heiss within the firm's Southeast Region. The market is overseen by outgoing Market Executive Lane Strumlauf and Market Executive Tyler Hutchens.

The team specializes in serving ultra-high-net-worth families and business owners, advising on investment management, tax strategy, estate planning and asset allocation, according to an announcement from UBS on Monday. Combined, the four advisors bring more than 100 years of industry experience.

Flatt joins UBS after serving as a senior portfolio manager to ultra-high-net-worth clients at Bank of America Private Bank. He previously managed billions of dollars across equities, fixed income and alternative investments as a portfolio manager at RBC Rochdale, and has held senior investment and advisory roles at Invesco, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, giving him nearly two decades in the business.

Drew brings four decades of trust and private wealth management experience. She spent close to 15 years at Bank of America Private Bank as a senior trust officer, following similar roles at Wells Fargo Private Bank and SunTrust. She began her career at Barnett Bank in St. Petersburg in 1988.

Burns joined Bank of America Private Bank in 2022 and most recently served as a market investment executive and senior portfolio manager for Central and North Florida, a role in which he built customized wealth strategies for ultra-high-net-worth clients and mentored other portfolio managers and private wealth advisors. He was previously a portfolio manager at RBC Rochdale.

Rodriguez spent 12 years at Bank of America Private Bank as a wealth strategies advisor, after 14 years at SunTrust Bank focused on trust services and estate and tax planning. Before entering financial services, he practiced law for nearly six years specializing in estate, tax and trust matters, capping a 30-year career centered on high- and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

"[These advisors] have spent decades building deep relationships throughout the Tampa community, and their addition will further strengthen the exceptional capabilities we offer clients," said Julie Fox, regional director, Southeast, at UBS.

"We're looking forward to helping them leverage our world-class wealth management capabilities and platform to further serve the complex needs of clients," added Heiss.

Learn more: Migrating to Florida? Here are the biggest financial benefits – and risks!

The Tampa hire lands as UBS works to reestablish momentum in its US wealth business after a rocky 2025. The Americas wealth arm lost close to $6 billion in net assets last year amid advisor departures tied to compensation changes.

Read more: After watching advisors walk, UBS adjusts pay plan, a boost for some advisors

In its first fiscal quarter for 2026, the unit reported pulling in a combined $5.3 billion in net new money, helping to drive a broader 80% jump in profit.

The bank is also said to be preparing to pilot everyday banking products with its US employees as early as December, ahead of a planned rollout of full-service banking to affluent American clients from mid-2027. That initiative, which builds on the national banking license UBS secured earlier this year, is aimed at clients holding between $2 million and $10 million in investable assets, a segment just below the firm's traditional ultra-wealthy base.