By Michael Wursthorn
Merrill Lynch and Raymond James & Associates have hired
financial advisers from Barclays PLC's U.S. wealth-management arm
and Wells Fargo Advisors, respectively.
Merrill said Wednesday morning that it recruited a two-person
financial-adviser team from Barclays, making the brokerage the
beneficiary of 19 advisers from the London-based bank since
Barclays agreed to sell the U.S. wealth unit to Stifel Financial
Corp. in June.
Advisers Jim Ertmann and Ben Foster, who will work in Merrill's
ultrawealthy client division, managed more than $800 million of
client assets and generated $5.8 million in fees and commissions
annually at Barclays. They will work out of Chicago.
Messrs. Ertmann and Foster joined Barclays through its
acquisition of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s private investment
management unit after the collapse of the investment bank in
2008.
Raymond James, meanwhile, said it hired advisers Bruce Daigle,
Diane Fisher and Walter Wydo, Jr. to open a new branch in West
Hartford, Conn. The three, known as the FDW Group, had been at
Wells Fargo, where they managed more than $275 million and had $1.5
million in annual production.
Each of the three had worked at A.G. Edwards & Sons,
remaining as the firm transitioned into Wachovia and later Wells
Fargo.
A Barclays spokesman declined to comment. A Wells Fargo
spokeswoman didn't immediately confirm the departures.
Write to Michael Wursthorn at michael.wursthorn@wsj.com
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