Veteran Merrill Lynch adviser jumps to UBS

A veteran adviser of Merrill Lynch with about $425 million in client assets, has jumped ship to UBS Wealth Management. Mark Wilkins, a financial adviser for Merrill's elite private banking and investment group, began at UBS on Thursday and is working out of its St. Louis branch, according to UBS spokesman Gregg Rosenberg. At Merrill, Mr. Wilkins generated $3.6 million in annual fees and commissions, Mr. Rosenberg said. Mr. Wilkins joined Merrill in 1994 after serving as an officer in the Army. In 2013, 2014, and 2015, Barron's named Mr. Wilkins to its list of top financial advisers. A spokesperson for Merrill Lynch could not be reached for comment. This is the latest of several departures that Merrill's private banking and investment group has seen within the past few months. In late September, seven former Merrill advisers who oversaw $3.3 billion in client assets left Merrill to create Corient Capital Partners, an independent advisory firm in Newport Beach, Calif. Merrill also saw the loss of two advisers with a combined $800 million in assets from the private banking group in mid-August who left to create a new registered investment firm, Venturi Wealth Management, in Austin, Texas.