Regions

Bank of America Corp's Merrill Lynch hired veteran brokers from its rival, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. The new additions to Merrill Lynch's adviser force will be based in New York and Washington, D.C.

Addison Sherman, Mary Tomkins, and Angelo Mamone were the new additions to Merrill Lynch's Mount Kisco office in New York. These advisers will be managing a combined US$324 million worth of client assets. On the other hand, Michael Abbenante joined Merrill Lynch's Washington D.C. office. He will be managing US$110 million worth in client assets.

There was competition over the same pool of top advisers among Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo Advisors, and UBS Wealth Management Americas. However, these movements among advisers saw a slowing down during the first half of the year. Stronger markets in 2013 made advisers less inclined to relocate client accounts.

The adviser departures were confirmed by Morgan Stanley. However, the firm refused to make additional comments.