Wirehouse Shuffle Brings 4 Merrill, Morgan Teams to UBS

UBS (UBS) said Thursday that it had hired four teams from Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, as well as one advisor from Alliance Bernstein, with a total of more than $1.6 billion in assets under management and $9.2 million in yearly fees and commissions.

Over the past few months, recruiters have attributed UBS’ aggressive recruiting drive to its robust signing bonuses. For its part, UBS Wealth Management Americas—which is led by the former Merrill executive Bob McCann (left)—says that its branch managers are highly skilled at knowing how and whom to target.

“William [Goldberg] as well as the Wright Ramage, Ellentuck, Pierce/Kyle and Palumbo, Short, D’Amato & Dixon Groups represent the caliber of advisors that we are selectively seeking to add to our exceptional team of FAs at UBS,” said Jason R. Chandler, head of UBS WMA’s wealth-management advisor group, in a statement. “Their decision to join UBS WMA is indicative of our ability to help them further develop their business in a way that makes sense for them and their clients.”

The Palumbo, Short, D’Amato & Dixon Group joined UBS in Florham Park, N.J., from Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BAC). The group will report to UBS complex director Michael Price and is expected to bring some $4 million in production and assets under management of roughly $675 million.

The group includes Richard Palumbo, Robert Short, Robert D’Amato and James Dixon.