Six Credit Suisse Financial Advisers Leave Ahead of Overhaul

Two groups of financial advisers managing about $4.5 billion in total recently left Credit Suisse AG ahead of a strategic overhaul that will be announced later this month.

Three advisers—Christopher Baldwin, Thomas Tyndorf and Andrew Skoglund—joined Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch brokerage in Chicago as part of its private banking and investment group, which caters to investors with $10 million or more in assets. Another three, Ross Kennedy, Richard Cantwell and Stephen Michael, were hired by UBS Group AG's U.S. wealth-management arm to work out of Boston earlier this month.

The trio that went to Merrill oversaw roughly $3.5 billion in client assets at Credit Suisse, while Messrs. Kennedy, Cantwell and Michael managed $1 billion and generated $7.2 million in annual fees and commissions, spokeswomen for Merrill and UBS said.

In July, Credit Suisse Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam said the company was working on a strategic review.

The firm said it would announce its plans on Oct. 21. On Thursday, the Financial Times reported that Credit Suisse plans to announce a "substantial" share sale to raise capital, and it said the overhaul may include plans to sell off specific units, including the U.S. private-banking group.

A Credit Suisse spokeswoman confirmed the departures but declined to comment on the news report and the possibility of a sale of its private-banking unit. In a statement Thursday, the Swiss bank said, "We are conducting a thorough assessment of Credit Suisse's strategy, evaluating all options for the group, its businesses and its capital usage and requirements."

Credit Suisse's U.S. private bank is estimated to be worth between $415 million and $623 million, with $115 billion in assets and employing roughly 370 advisers, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst report last month.

Messrs. Baldwin and Tyndorf had been at Credit Suisse since 2000, joining the firm through its acquisition of Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette. Mr. Skoglund previously worked at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. as an adviser. Messrs. Kennedy and Cantwell also joined Credit Suisse through its Donaldson Lufkin acquisition. They joined the firm in 1992 and 1993, respectively. Mr. Michael joined Credit Suisse in 1993.

Merrill and UBS didn't make the hires immediately available for interviews.

Write to Michael Wursthorn at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 09, 2015 02:25 ET (06:25 GMT)

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