Morgan Stanley Poaches Two From Merrill -- Street Moves

  By Michael Wursthorn 
 

Two long-serving Merrill Lynch veterans have joined Morgan Stanley, where they will work to bring most, if not all, of the more than $600 million in client assets they managed.

Financial advisers Harvey and Murray Bell, who are also brothers, joined Morgan Stanley's Short Hills, N.J., office recently. Mr. Harvey was a producing manager for Merrill, and, together, they generated $3.6 million in fees and commissions annually, a Morgan Stanley spokeswoman said. A person with knowledge of the matter added that the brothers oversee about $620 million in assets.

The Bell brothers had spent the vast majority of their careers at Merrill, joining in 1982 and 1984, respectively. Together, they rode through several market cycles, including the financial crisis, as well as Merrill's acquisition by Bank of America Corp. in 2009.

It wasn't immediately clear why the pair opted to leave Merrill. A Merrill spokeswoman confirmed the departures but didn't provide further comment.

These hires by Morgan Stanley offset some of Merrill's most recent recruitment gains. Over the last several weeks, Merrill poached 20 advisers managing more than $1.8 billion in assets, including 12 from Barclays PLC's U.S. wealth-management arm.

(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].)

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires