Morgan Stanley Hires Advisors Managing $778M

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has snapped up eight new financial advisors with a combined $778 million in assets under management from rival firms Merrill Lynch and Barclays.

News of the hires comes days after Merrill Lynch announced that it recently drew six advisors from Morgan Stanley’s force. For Morgan Stanley, the majority of these new advisor hires come from Merrill Lynch, for a total of seven advisors, while the firm has also taken in one advisor from Barclays.

The largest team by assets in the latest hires comes from Merrill Lynch, and includes advisors Luis Fuentes, Christopher Fuentes and Rosario Hondermann, who join the firm in Miami. They previously oversaw $373 million in client assets and generated $1.97 million in fees and commissions.

Luis Fuentes had been with Merrill Lynch for more than 38 years, according to his public registration records with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Christopher Fuentes was employed at Merrill Lynch for more than 11 years, his registration records show, while Hondermann also served at Merrill Lynch for about 11 years.

Also moving to Morgan Stanley with that team is senior client service associate Louis Fuentes. The team reports to complex manager Kevin McCarty.

A second team including advisors Brant Giere and Lisa Szucs also joins from Merrill Lynch in Akron, Ohio. Together, Giere and Szucs previously had $210 million in client assets under management and had $1.005 million in production.

Giere comes to Morgan Stanley after about 21 years at Merrill Lynch, FINRA registration records show, while Szucs spent about 24 years at the firm. They report to branch manager Jason E. Haines.

Also joining from Merrill Lynch is two-member team Vince Costanzo and Rex Mack in Cleveland, Ohio. They previously had $115 million in client assets under management and $1.44 million in fees and commissions.

Costanzo served at Merrill Lynch for about 22 years, according to his public registration records, while Mack was with the firm for about 16 years. They report to branch manager Robert Hartmann.

Separately joining from Barclays in Shrewsbury, N.J.  is financial advisor Howard Shallcross, who previously oversaw $80 million in client assets and had $1.15 million in production. He was with Barclays since 1998, and served at Lehman Brothers prior to that for more than a year. Shallcross reports to branch manager Todd Sacks.

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