Merrill Recruits Advisers From UBS, Citi -- Street Moves

  By Michael Wursthorn 
 

Bank of America Corp.'s brokerage arm recently added five new financial advisers.

The bank said its Merrill Lynch unit hired Heath McGallion, Christopher Davis, Stan Davis and Hugh Hawkins from UBS AG's U.S.-based brokerage arm. Together, they had $395 million in assets under management and generated $3.87 million in fees and commissions while at UBS.

In addition, Merrill Lynch also hired Mario Fratto from Citi Personal Wealth Management, where he had worked for 14 years and managed $153 million in client assets.

Mr. Fratto joined Merrill's New York office in Rockefeller Center, while its other hires moved to the firm's Beaumont, Texas, branch. They all started last week.

For Mr. McGallion, Christopher Davis and Stan Davis, the move is a homecoming of sorts. Prior to joining UBS in 2008, Mr. McGallion worked for five years at Merrill Lynch, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's BrokerCheck database. Christopher Davis and Stan Davis, who both also started at UBS in 2008, previously worked for Merrill Lynch. Stan Davis had been there since 1984, while Christopher Davis worked there for five years beginning in 2003, BrokerCheck records showed.

Mr. Hawkins, a five-year UBS employee, previously worked at Smith Barney Inc.

A UBS spokesman declined to comment on the departures, while a Citi representative didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

(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. Michael Wursthorn can be reached at 212-416-2218 or at [e-mail].)

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