By Corrie Driebusch
STREET MOVES: 4 Broker Teams Join Morgan Stanley from Rivals
Four teams of brokers managing more than $765 million combined in client assets joined the wealth management arm of Morgan Stanley (MS) on Friday from Bank of America Corp. (BAC), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC).
Gaston Abello and Felix Jaimovich moved from Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch brokerage and now work out of the Aventura, Fla., Morgan Stanley Wealth Management office. The pair generate roughly $2.1 million in production annually on $165 million in client assets.
Mr. Abello started at Merrill Lynch in 2007, when he joined from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA, BBVA.MC), according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records. Mr. Jaimovich had worked for Merrill since 2005, according to Finra records.
Also moving to Morgan Stanley from Merrill were Robert Iocco and Francis Ciocari. The duo have joined Morgan Stanley’s Blue Bell, Pa., wealth-management office, where they report to branch manager Steve Brettler. While at Merrill, the team had an annual combined production of $1.6 million on more than $200 million in client assets.
Mr. Iocco had been employed by Merrill for nearly 40 years, and Mr. Ciocari worked for Merrill since 1998, according to Finra records.
William Seabrook and Kathleen Chiappone joined Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s Orlando, Fla., office from Wells Fargo Advisors. While at Wells Fargo, the pair had a combined annual production of $1.8 million. Morgan Stanley declined to disclose how much in client assets they manage.
Mr. Seabrook and Ms. Chiappone joined A.G. Edwards in 2002, and through mergers joined Wells Fargo. A spokeswoman for Wells Fargo Advisors confirmed the departures but declined to comment further.
(Street Moves chronicles the migration of executives on Wall Street, with a particular emphasis on financial advisers with more than $1 million in annual production and those who manage more than $100 million in client assets.)
