STREET MOVES: Wells Fargo Recruits Advisers From Morgan Stanley, Merrill

By Corrie Driebusch

NEW YORK--Wells Fargo & Co.'s ( WFC ) wealth management arm recently hired advisers who manage nearly $1.6 billion combined in client assets.

Among the advisers is Richard Powell, who joined Wells Fargo in Troy, Mich., from Morgan Stanley ( MS ). While at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, he managed $176 million in client assets.

Mr. Powell joined Citigroup Inc. ( C ) two decades ago, and remained with the joint venture with Morgan Stanley until earlier this month, according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records. He previously worked as a broker at Lehman Brothers, E.F. Hutton & Co. and Merrill Lynch.

Also joining Wells Fargo in Troy are Eric Whipple and Stephen Cooper. The two-person team, called the Cooper Group, most recently worked at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, where they managed $195 million in client assets with an annual production of $1.8 million.

The duo joined Citigroup in 2007, and remained with the joint venture with Morgan Stanley until earlier this month, according to Finra records.

Separately, the independent brokerage arm of Wells Fargo hired three teams of advisers whose combined assets under management total more than $1.2 billion.

Cynthia M. Boyle, D. Jordan Josey and John N. Boyle have joined Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, or FiNet, in Landrum, S.C., from Raymond James & Associates. There the trio had managed about $125 million in client assets with an annual production of $2.1 million.

Mr. Boyle and Ms. Boyle, who are husband and wife, worked for Raymond James since 1986, according to Finra records. Mr. Josey was with Raymond James since 2004, according to Finra. A spokeswoman for Raymond James was not immediately available to comment.

Separately, the Heartwood Wealth Advisors team is now working for FiNet in Richmond, Va. The team of Sid Martin, Steve Clarke and Wes Kaufman joined from Bank of America Corp.'s ( BAC ) Merrill Lynch, where they produced $3.2 million annually on $689 million in client assets.

Messrs. Martin, Clarke and Kaufman had all worked for Merrill Lynch for roughly the past 15 years, according to Finra records. A spokeswoman for Merrill Lynch confirmed the departures but declined to comment further.

The Meltzer & Hill Wealth Advisory in Kingston, N.Y., have also joined FiNet, from Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. The trio, which includes Evan Meltzer, his son Philip Meltzer and Edward Hill, had $400 million in assets under management and an annual production of $2.1 million.

Evan Meltzer joined Citigroup in 1993, Mr. Hill joined in 1996 and Philip Meltzer joined in 2005, and all three remained with the joint venture with Morgan Stanley until earlier this month.

A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley was not immediately available 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.)

-Write to Corrie Driebusch at corrie.driebusch@dowjones.com;

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