BAIS Moves Reps to Merrill

Patrick Burns, with the law offices of Patrick Burns in Beverly Hills, says he’s “somewhat surprised” by BAIS’s “sudden” decision, since BAIS had stated it was going to join the broker protocol. Burns says BAIS likely transitioned its reps to Merrill for branding purposes. “Merrill probably had the stronger brand name,” he says. Now, Burns says we can expect to see a “large number of former BAIS representatives exploring the idea of going independent and doing so with the protections the Protocol for Broker Recruiting affords them.” There are currently about 300 firms on the protocol list. The three most recent that joined are Morgan Stanley Smith Barney; Wells Fargo Advisors (formerly Wachovia Securities); and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network (formerly Wachovia Securities Financial Network).–Melanie Waddell