UBS grabs 5 advisors with $1.3B in assets

UBS recruited five advisors managing nearly $1.3 billion in client assets from competitors, according to an internal memo sent March 28 and obtained by On Wall Street.

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In addition to the advisors, the firm added a new member to its recruiting team. Michael Price, who became a branch manager in 2016, will be responsible for recruiting teams that serve high-net-worth and ultrahigh-net-worth clients, according to the memo, which was sent to the UBS market heads by Michael McVicker, head of business and change management at the firm.

The wirehouse pursues a selective approach to recruiting veteran talent, having scaled back hiring efforts in 2016. Last month, UBS picked up advisors managing $800 million in assets from rivals Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.

In its most recent recruiting sweep, UBS brought on new brokers at four branch locations.

The license obtained by UBS allows the firm to manage assets for institutional and high-net-worth investors in the world’s second-largest economy for the first time.
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
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg News

A team that generated $5.5 million in annual revenue and managed $876 million in assets joined UBS in Dallas, according to the memo.

Troy Swaner left Merrill Lynch where he had spent the last five years, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records. Fowler Hatley, who worked at U.S. Trust, according to LinkedIn, also moved with Swaner. Hatley is not currently a registered financial advisor, according to BrokerCheck, but a spokesman at UBS confirmed he has joined the firm and will be registered as an advisor in the next 60 days.

Brent McIntosh is Citi's chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Brent leads Citi's Global Legal Affairs & Compliance organization, which includes the Legal Department, Independent Compliance Risk Management, Citi Security and Investigative Services and Citi's Regulatory Strategy and Policy function. He is a member of Citi's Executive Management Team.

Brent served as under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs from 2019 to 2021. From 2017 to 2019, Brent served as Treasury's general counsel. Prior to that, he was a partner in the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell.

Brent served in the White House from 2006 until 2009, first as associate counsel to the president and then as deputy assistant to the president and deputy staff secretary. Before that, he was a deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department.

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Susana Ortega Valle is the VP of Product, where she leads the strategic vision for how small business owners engage with insurance. Throughout her two-decade career, she has built a reputation for developing high-performance teams that thrive on innovation and challenge conventional thinking.

Prior to joining Simply Business, Susana held digital product leadership roles at State Street and Santander Bank. Her approach to data-informed, AI-forward product strategy is backed by a robust academic foundation, including two MS degrees in Telecommunications Engineering and an MBA from MIT.

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Also moving to UBS from Merrill Lynch is advisor Adrienne Hart. She had worked at Merrill 14 years, according to BrokerCheck. The Indianapolis-based advisor managed $95 million in assets and generated $742,000 in annual revenue, according to the memo.

An advisor who generated $1.4 million in revenue and managed $200 million in client assets joined UBS in Carmel Valley, California, according to the memo. Dustin Rief had been previously affiliated with Mercer Advisors, where he had been registered since 2003, according to his IAPD report.

And advisor Patrick Ford is making his first career move after 31 years at Merrill Lynch, according to BrokerCheck. Ford is joining UBS in New Albany, Ohio. He managed $104 million in client assets and generated $1.2 million in annual revenue, according to the memo.

Spokespersons at Merrill Lynch and Mercer Advisors did not respond to a request for comment on the departures.

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