Merrill hires $1B Citi Private Bank team in Tri-State area

Merrill Wealth Management

Mega financial institution Citigroup has big goals under CEO Jane Fraser to transform itself into a leading wealth management shop, along with a big problem: Rival Merrill is poaching some of its top advisors in the Tri-State area. 

A team of four advisors managing a collective $1 billion of client assets has left Citi Private Bank to join Merrill Wealth Management, a move staggered over the past two months, a Merrill spokesperson said in an email. The change was first reported by AdvisorHub on Nov. 14, citing an unnamed source.

The advisors did not immediately respond to a request for comment; Citi declined to comment.

Frank Falco, who leads the former Citi group as managing director, will be based out of Merrill's office in Great Neck, New York. The other advisors, — senior vice presidents Kevin Condon, John Huber and Alexandra Maksimow — will work from a location in Stamford, Connecticut. 

Falco's team will focus on serving ultra-high net worth and high net worth clients, including executives and business owners, according to a press release shared in an email by a Merrill spokesperson. 

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The Great Neck branch of Merrill specializes in multi-generational wealth and business owners, and the Stamford office has expertise in retirement planning, concentrated stock positions, traditional investments and estate planning, according to descriptions on the branches' respective websites. 

The departures follow Citi Private Bank's loss, over the summer, of another high-profile team managing $8 billion of client assets in nearby Greenwich, Connecticut. The team included Stephen Lillis, David Rabideau, and Lauren Spirelli and wealth management specialist Steven Calderon, Barron's reported at the time. 

Citi private banking veteran Nisha Jhaveri also made the leap to Merrill in October. According to a LinkedIn post from last week, she will be based out of the Greenwich branch as well. 

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The moves come as CEO Fraser moves to hire 500 advisors in the next three years as part of the bank's wealth management push, with a focus on cultivating ties with a niche segment of early-career consultants, accountants and private equity workers in its new Wealth at Work program. While this program has been successful so far, logging a 6% year-over-year growth in revenue during the third quarter of 2022, the Private Bank unit which suffered the loss of advisors to Merrill reported a 13% decline in revenue from the second quarter and a 10% revenue drop year-over-year, according to a press release last month. 

In September, Fraser acknowledged that bankers commuting in the Tri-State area, which comprises New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, were uncomfortable with coming back to the offices in New York, as pandemic-area restrictions eased and employers attempted to lure employees back. In statements to the House Financial Services Committee, Fraser said she understood that workers were unhappy with the rising cost of commuting into the city. She added that Citi was considering opening offices in New Jersey and Connecticut to make it easier for them, or expanding work-from-home privileges. It's unclear if this was a factor in the recent moves.

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Andy Sieg, the president of Merrill Wealth Management, said in comments to reporters last month that despite the ongoing attrition of veteran brokers amid a highly competitive labor market this year, the wirehouse is going on the offense with hiring, mostly for young talent but also for experienced brokers.

"We have a highly differentiated offering and platform," Sieg said. "There is no organization that we compete with that can make a similar claim to be able to fully serve the needs of high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients across investing of course, but [also] broad financial planning, banking, lending, and more."