Merrill reclaims $1B broker from UBS

It's back to Merrill for a $1B ex-UBS broker: Advisor Moves

May 2, 2025 12:22 PM

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Merrill welcomes back an advisor who was last managing a $1 billion book of business at UBS.

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo brings on another team from UBS and Focus Financial gives a pair of its top executives some new responsibilities. Check it out below.

Advisor with $1B in AUM returns to Merrill from UBS

After nearly a decade at UBS, a longtime advisor is returning to Merrill.

Peter Borowsky, a financial advisor with 37 years of industry experience and more than $1 billion in client assets under management, is joining Merrill in New York. Borowsky was previously at Merrill for nearly two years, starting in 1990.

Borowsky specializes in working with high net worth clients, including professional athletes and entertainers. He will join Merrill's Rockefeller Center office, which is led by Courtney McCarthy, who also previously moved from UBS to Merrill Lynch in 2018, according to BrokerCheck records.

Borowsky's career began in 1987 at Bradstreet Capital. Beyond his stint at Merrill, he was also at Morgan Stanley before moving to UBS in 2015.

Wells Fargo grabs $800M team from UBS

Wells Fargo is extending its presence in the Seattle area with an advisory team picked up from UBS.

The group, including advisors Kyle Kuykendall, Brett Williams, Paul Adams and Andrew Dickson, joined Wells Fargo's Private Client Group in Bellevue, Washington, on April 25th, according to a company spokesperson. They had previously gone by the name Legacy Wealth Consulting Group and managed roughly $800 million in client assets at UBS.

Kuykendall, Williams and Adams each were at UBS for 16 years, and Dickson began his career there in 2016. Two other members of the Legacy Wealth Consulting Group, Tyler Neal and Patricia Gerken, remain at UBS.

Focus gives executives new responsibilities

The private equity-backed RIA aggregator Focus Financial Partners is giving new responsibilities to two senior executives.

Adam Birenbaum, previously CEO of both Focus Partners Wealth and Focus Partners Advisor Solutions, has now been appointed president of Focus. In his new role, he will help shape the firm's "strategic vision" and work closely with executives in other business units, according to the firm's announcement.

Meanwhile, Justin Ferri, who has been serving as co-president of Focus Partners Wealth since June, will take on the additional role of chief operating officer. Focus said Ferri's responsibilities will include overseeing trading, service and support for clients and advisors.

Both will report to Focus Financial Partners CEO Michael Nathanson. Focus said the appointments are meant to ensure executives with extensive industry experience are working directly with clients and advisors.

"This natural evolution of our executive team reflects our commitment to convergence and coherence across our business, with the goal of creating a more unified, aligned, and forward-looking organization," Nathanson said in a statement.

Nathanson said the announcement underscores the company's dedication to unifying its various divisions. Focus, one of the most active purchasers of independent advisory firms, has been busy lately reorganizing 90 or so individual practices it has acquired over the years into five "hubs." In January, it announced each of those hubs was getting a new name, in part as a reflection of the firm's greater integration. Focus' network now has more than $450 billion in assets under management.

Corso named CEO of Advisors Asset Management

Advisors Asset Management, which provides various investment vehicles to advisors and their clients, has named Cliff Corso its new CEO.

Corso, now president and chief investment officer, will move into the top spot on May 9. Current CEO Scott Colyer, who has led the firm since 1998, will work as a consultant for a year and remain a shareholder and board member.

Under Colyer, Advisor Asset Management moved beyond its roots in fixed-income investments to become a provider of a wider array of investment products. A milestone was reached in 2023 when a majority ownership stake was taken in the firm by Sun Life Financial's institutional fixed income and alternatives asset manager, SLC Management. This deal added greatly to the range of alternative investments Advisor Asset Management could offer financial professionals.

Corso, who will remain chief investment officer while taking on the CEO role, plans to continue to place emphasis on the distribution of alternative investments. Before joining Advisor Asset Management in 2021, Corso held top positions at the U.K. asset manager Insight Investment and helped to bring the firm to North America. Advisor Asset Management helped arrange more than $32 billion in asset sales and investments in 2024 for 15,300 financial professionals.