HighTower Nabs Morgan Stanley Manager in Baltimore

Hightower has added a former Morgan Stanley branch manager in Baltimore in its second large recruitment pull from the wirehouse firms this year.

The Chicago-based boutique wealth management firm has added Thomas J. New to its Kelly Wealth Management practice as it looks to “reignite the boutique wealth management culture in Baltimore,” the firm said in a statement.

New was most recently a senior vice president and branch manager with Morgan Stanley’s Hunt Valley office where he oversaw approximately 50 financial advisors and had previously served as complex manager of the North Baltimore complex. He had been at Morgan Stanley since he started his career in 1998, according to records with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

In his new role as executive director, New will utilize that experience to strengthen the HighTower brand offerings in the region, according to the firm.

“Tom will use his business development expertise to strengthen our offering — personalized service, a holistic vision and long-term strategies which clients require to navigate today’s increasingly complex financial markets,” Leo J. Kelly III, managing director and partner of HighTower’s Kelly Wealth Management, said in a statement. “He understands that boutique wealth management practices like HighTower’s Kelly Wealth Management excel at this mission because it is our driving focus.”

In the past, while at Morgan Stanley, New had tried to recruit Kelly from his previous firm. When Kelly went to HighTower, however, New found out about the model and was impressed enough to consider joining as well, according to the firm. “Their roles are now reversed,” the firm said.

HighTower also recently picked up Merrill Lynch advisor Matt Moore, who managed $250 million in assets. According to Mike Papedis, executive vice president at HighTower, the firm regularly targets the “corner office” advisor and is continuing to focus on large metropolitan areas. Currently HighTower has 23 offices in 15 states.

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