UBS recruited a Merrill Lynch team that oversaw $200 million in client assets, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The group generated over $2 million in annual revenue, the person said.
Since June 2016, UBS has cut back on its recruiting efforts, focusing on retention of its existing brokerage force and fostering a different corporate culture. However, the firm continues to hire selectively, and is focused on advisers who serve wealthy and ultrawealthy clients.
A visitor enters the UBS Group AG's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, July 23, 2015. UBS Group AG and Morgan Stanley increased the assets they manage for the world's wealthiest people to more than $2 trillion for the first time, according to a study. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
The Swiss firm's newest hires include Michael Miremadi, Christopher Heintz and Teresa Uzeta. The team joined UBS last week in Seal Beach, California.
Miremadi was a Merrill Lynch veteran, having worked at the firm since 1993, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records. Heintz and Uzeta joined the wirehouse in 2012 and 2014, respectively.
A Merrill Lynch spokeswoman could not be reached for immediate comment.
UBS's headcount has ticked down recently. For the first quarter, the firm reported having 6,969 advisers, down 176 from the year-ago period. However, profits for UBS's wealth management unit rose 42% year-over-year. The firm also posted record revenue per adviser of $1.17 million.
Morgan Stanley is among a long list of wealth managers facing questions about whether their handling of uninvested cash is really in clients' best interest.
After joining Raymond James last year, Lynette Ancona contends she was virtually forced out of Schwab by a branch manager who tended to favor "younger, male" colleagues.
Only two out of nine firms included the total amount of money involved in revenue sharing — a practice critics say should be ended entirely — in their disclosures.
Social Security beneficiaries may welcome the withholding rate reduction, but financial advisors say the back-and-forth policy changes threaten to erode public confidence in the agency.
The May Financial Advisor Confidence Outlook survey shows that instability, especially around tariffs, continues to weigh heavily on the minds of advisors and their clients.
