Wirehouses

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.

The firm has picked up another wirehouse team with nearly a million dollars in production.

The firm scooped up a long-time advisor with $180 million in AUM.

Raymond James Financial plans to drop Morgan Keegan from the name of its fixed income arm later this month.

The story of how Bradley Cull got his start in the financial services industry sounds like the plot from an F. Scott Fitzgerald story, except with a happy ending.

Merrill Lynch has added four financial advisors overseeing $996 million in client assets from rival firms including Piper Jaffray, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

The list has been narrowed down to 100 finalists for the Top 10 Branch Managers of the Year. Check out who made the list and stay tuned for the announcement of the final 10 in May.

Peter Princi of Morgan Stanley relates his career as an advisor with the time he spent with the New York Mets.

BlackRock Inc. hired Gary Shedlin as chief financial officer to replace Ann Marie Petach, who will move to a client-oriented role within the firm.

“The combination of this being who I am and what I do and having absolutely no other interests makes me think this is what I’ll be doing for a while,” Blankfein said.

UBS financial advisor Gregory Hersch, number seven on this year’s Top 40 Under 40 list, says that advisors who aspire to do better should become better listeners.