Andrew Welsch

Merrill Lynch picked up an advisor from rival Credit Suisse.

The firm's Americas wealth management unit is smaller, but better positioned to compete for wealthy clients after six years under President Bob McCann, industry insiders say.

With the acquisition of City National Bank complete, RBC will begin beefing up its capabilities – but in a carefully planned roll-out, says John Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management-U.S.

Two advisors left the British bank's U.S. wealth management unit before the close of its pending sale to Stifel.

The heads of the biggest wealth management firms vary in their approaches to challenges, including recruitment and the use of robo advisors.

Two of the new advisors at the wirehouse came from rivals Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

The wirehouse executive speaks about the firm's approach to automation and why a larger advisor force is necessary to meet increasingly complex client needs.

Brian Hull, head of the firm's Client Advisory Group, tells On Wall Street that he's trying to make it easier for advisors to do business at the wirehouse.

"We have competitive advantages that none of these firms can duplicate," says Greg Fleming, president of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

"If I said I had worked for AT&T for 33 years, anybody would ask me, 'Well, when are you going to retire?' But our industry is unique. It's not like a utility company, where after 30 or 35 years, you're done," says Larry Palmer, an advisor at Morgan Stanley.