By Michael Wursthorn 

Two former high-powered financial advisers fired by Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch last month are moving to Stifel Financial Corp.

Stephen Brown and James Goetz were in the process of joining the full-service brokerage firm Monday, after hammering out a deal in the weeks following their termination by Merrill Lynch for allegedly violating firm policies. Mr. Brown and a Stifel spokesperson confirmed the move.

Stifel edged out a number of firms who were trying to recruit the pair, who had managed $2.5 billion in client assets while at Merrill Lynch. These included both employee-based brokerages and platforms for independent advisers, said Mr. Brown in an email.

Mr. Brown and Mr. Goetz interviewed with 12 firms in all before picking Stifel, which had no upstate New York presence, said Mr. Brown. They were impressed with what they saw as the firm's " 'client first' mentality," he said.

"It reminded me of the way things were 25 years ago when I started in this business," Mr. Brown added.

Mr. Brown, who had been at Merrill for 23 years, said Stifel plans to build out an office for himself and Mr. Goetz, a 16-year Merrill veteran, in the Rochester, N.Y., region, where the two had been working for their previous employer.

Together, Mr. Brown and Mr. Goetz were a part of Merrill's private banking and investment group, a unit comprised of roughly 150 brokerage teams that worked with high net-worth clients that had at least $10 million to invest.

Details surrounding the pair's dismissal last month are still unclear. Mr. Goetz's filing with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's BrokerCheck database said he was discharged because of "conduct related to not disclosing private securities transactions, including transactions alongside clients, and [for] not being forthcoming during an internal review." Mr. Brown's Finra filing contained similar language.

Neither Mr. Brown nor Mr. Goetz responded to the allegations through Finra's BrokerCheck. However, an attorney representing Mr. Brown and Mr. Goetz disputed the terminations and said legal action against Merrill Lynch is being weighed.

"Right now, we're investigating a claim against Merrill Lynch," said Thomas Lewis, an attorney with Stevens & Lee. "It's our belief that Merrill Lynch didn't act properly in the termination." He declined to elaborate.

A Merrill Lynch spokeswoman declined to comment on the terminations.

Write to Michael Wursthorn at Michael.Wursthorn@wsj.com

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