By Kenneth Corbin

Merrill Lynch has made a series of recent hires, luring advisors away from large rival brokerage firms where they had collectively managed $695 million in client assets.

The largest practice joins from Morgan Stanley. The team, led by advisors Anthony Callea and Randy Cintron, managed $400 million in assets and produced $3 million in annual revenue.

They are joining Merrill's Park Avenue office in New York City, which is led by Market Executive Joe Doonan.

Kailey Walsh, the team's senior business manager, and Erin Doody, a client associate, are also joining Merrill through the move.

Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the departures.

Another recruit comes from Raymond James. Advisor Ryan Greer, who managed $170 million in client assets and produced $1 million in annual revenue, is joining Merrill's office in Knoxville, Tenn., overseen by Tennessee Market Executive Tyson Moore. Support staffers Angela Mecha and Jackson Smith are also coming over in the move.

Raymond James didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the departure.

The final hire, Mark Simmons, is joining Merrill's office in Palm Beach, Fla. He had been with Wells Fargo, where he managed $125 million in client assets and produced $1.1 million in annual revenue. Josephine Raus, a wealth management specialist, is also joining Merrill through the move.

Wells Fargo declined to comment on the move.

The recruiting wins for Merrill, a unit of Bank of America, are a reminder of how fluid the wealth management industry can be, and how competition for top talent is fierce.

Merrill Lynch, like other large firms, no longer reports advisor head count, but it routinely announces recruiting wins from its competitors, just as they sometimes trumpet the hiring of Merrill advisors.

With the most recent hires, Merrill is bringing in an experienced group of advisors. Simmons, who has had the shortest tenure of the bunch, has been in the industry for 17 years, according to the online database BrokerCheck.

Callea and Cintron have both been in the industry for 25 years, and Greer is a 20-year veteran, according to BrokerCheck.

Write to advisor.editors@barrons.com

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February 19, 2025 13:46 ET (18:46 GMT)

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