By Michael Wursthorn
Two former high-powered financial advisers fired by Bank of
America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch last month are moving to Stifel
Financial Corp.
Stephen Brown and James Goetz were in the process of joining the
full-service brokerage firm Monday, after hammering out a deal in
the weeks following their termination by Merrill Lynch for
allegedly violating firm policies. Mr. Brown and a Stifel
spokesperson confirmed the move.
Stifel edged out a number of firms who were trying to recruit
the pair, who had managed $2.5 billion in client assets while at
Merrill Lynch. These included both employee-based brokerages and
platforms for independent advisers, said Mr. Brown in an email.
Mr. Brown and Mr. Goetz interviewed with 12 firms in all before
picking Stifel, which had no upstate New York presence, said Mr.
Brown. They were impressed with what they saw as the firm's "
'client first' mentality," he said.
"It reminded me of the way things were 25 years ago when I
started in this business," Mr. Brown added.
Mr. Brown, who had been at Merrill for 23 years, said Stifel
plans to build out an office for himself and Mr. Goetz, a 16-year
Merrill veteran, in the Rochester, N.Y., region, where the two had
been working for their previous employer.
Together, Mr. Brown and Mr. Goetz were a part of Merrill's
private banking and investment group, a unit comprised of roughly
150 brokerage teams that worked with high net-worth clients that
had at least $10 million to invest.
Details surrounding the pair's dismissal last month are still
unclear. Mr. Goetz's filing with the Financial Industry Regulatory
Authority's BrokerCheck database said he was discharged because of
"conduct related to not disclosing private securities transactions,
including transactions alongside clients, and [for] not being
forthcoming during an internal review." Mr. Brown's Finra filing
contained similar language.
Neither Mr. Brown nor Mr. Goetz responded to the allegations
through Finra's BrokerCheck. However, an attorney representing Mr.
Brown and Mr. Goetz disputed the terminations and said legal action
against Merrill Lynch is being weighed.
"Right now, we're investigating a claim against Merrill Lynch,"
said Thomas Lewis, an attorney with Stevens & Lee. "It's our
belief that Merrill Lynch didn't act properly in the termination."
He declined to elaborate.
A Merrill Lynch spokeswoman declined to comment on the
terminations.
Write to Michael Wursthorn at Michael.Wursthorn@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires