Wirehouses

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel’s rejection of compensatory damages requests from both Morgan Stanley and one of its former brokers is the latest example of how deals for sign on bonuses can sour when a new position does not work out.

Merrill Lynch has promoted Mary Ann Bartels to serve as chief investment officer of portfolio strategies within its Investment Management and Guidance group.

UBS’ latest hires come after Morgan Stanley hired several UBS advisors earlier this month.

Wells Fargo has hired 17 advisors to its standalone branches and added nine advisors to its independent brokerage business, Financial Network.

The firm continues to expand its presence in Florida with the addition of a second Wells Fargo broker.

Morgan Stanley, owner of the world’s biggest brokerage, will buy the remaining 35 percent of its wealth-management venture with Citigroup Inc. after winning Federal Reserve approval in the regulator’s annual stress test.

RIAs like to think of themselves as starkly different than their counterparts in the wirehouse channel -- in terms of fee structure, fiduciary responsibility, independence and, often, income. But a new study casts some doubt on the income part of that equation.

Kaminsky, who was the cable television network’s capital markets editor, will work with Morgan Stanley’s financial advisors on client development.

Raphael Zagury, Bank of America Corp.’s head of creating derivative investments for wealthy clients at Merrill Lynch, said he resigned.

The dually registered and registered investment advisor channels were the fastest-growing for assets under management from 2010 to 2011, Cerulli Associates reported today -- but the two are still dwarfed by assets in the wirehouse channel.

Barclays recently announced that it planned to eliminate at least 3,700 jobs in 2013. This was sour news from an industry that had begun to back away from the heavy layoff days of 2011.

In its second big recruiting move of the year, HighTower has picked up a former branch manager from Morgan Stanley.

“Wall Street is still in transition, but is slowly adjusting to changes in its economic and regulatory environment,” the state CFO said in a Feb. 26 announcement. “Profits and bonuses rebounded in 2012, but the industry is still restructuring.”

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has lured five advisors with $619 million in assets and about $2.9 million in production in its latest move in the hunt for advisory talent.

Merrill Lynch financial advisor Erik Bjerke, number one on the Top 40 Under 40 list, credits his efforts to give back to his team and clients for enabling his career to flourish.

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has snapped up a three-member team from Merrill Lynch with $1.3 million in production in the firm’s latest acquisition in its hunt for new advisory talent.

Steven Prediletto of Merrill Lynch says he was first impressed by the financial advisory industry from observing his aunt, also an advisor, when he would spend his summers visiting New York while he was growing up in the 1980s.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch saw record new financial benefit plan assets in last year as it plans to strengthen that growth with a bigger push into the investment bank in 2013.

The firm has added a team with $650 million in assets to build a presence in the City of Brotherly Love.

By focusing on the big picture, Merrill Lynch advisor Chad Pigg, number three on Top 40 Under 40 list, has found a niche advising top corporate and institutional accounts.