The movement to draw top talent away from New York-based wirehouse firms continued during the week ending May 7.
Wells Fargo Advisors hired Thomas R. Isaacs from Merrill Lynch to serve as the market manager for its New York City branches on May 5, while on May 6 Baird picked up William H. Sewell from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney to open a new wealth management office for the growing broker-dealer in Raleigh, N.C.
Issacs joined Wells Fargo Advisors as a managing director and market manager for the firm's New York City market. He will lead Wells' seven private client group branches in Manhattan, which include 246 financial advisors and about $21 billion in client assets, according to a press release.
Isaacs is originally from the New York area, and he spent 25 years at Merrill Lynch, most recently as manager of that firm's Jacksonville, Fla., branch.
"As a former financial advisor himself, Tom has used his insight and experience to support financial advisors in building their practices, in the process attracting many experienced advisors from other firms to join him," said Michael J. Carroll, regional president of the northeast region of Wells Fargo Advisors, in a release.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo says that, as of March 31, it had some $1.1 trillion in client assets, more than 15,100 full-service financial advisors and 6,300 licensed financial specialists.
Baird, which is based in Milwaukee, said it hired Sewell this week as a senior vice president and head of its new wealth management office in Raleigh, N.C.
