READ NOWH1 2026, State of Advisor Movement

Winthrop & Co.

Advisor Moves · Updated Daily

Merrill Lynch advisor departures

Merrill's advisor movement tells the wirehouse story in miniature: headline headcount holds steady through trainee classes while experienced teams, including billion-dollar groups, continue to depart for regionals, boutiques, and independence. This tracker logs reported departures as they happen. Winthrop & Co.'s H1 2026 research measured Merrill at a net minus 255 producing advisors for the half.

25
Tracked departures
$153B
Disclosed AUM
21
Distinct destinations
Jul 20, 2026
Latest move
DateTeam / AdvisorsDestinationReported AUMSource
Jul 20, 2026Matthew J. Smith (Montgomery, AL)Morgan Stanley$305MGoogle News — UBS advisor moves
Jul 20, 2026Unnamed Merrill Lynch teamMorgan Stanley$460MGoogle News — UBS advisor moves
Jun 25, 2026Unnamed Merrill Lynch teamBaird$560MWealthManagement.com
Jun 18, 2026Robbins & Hooper (Colby Robbins, Brock Hooper — Nashville, TN)UBS Wealth Management$344MGoogle News — UBS advisor moves
Jun 18, 2026Colby Robbins & Brock Hooper (Nashville, TN)UBS$2.0B+Google News — UBS advisor moves
Jun 16, 2026Unnamed Merrill Lynch advisorUBS Wealth Management (Philadelphia)$1.2BGoogle News — UBS advisor moves
Jun 16, 2026John MageeWells Fargo Advisors Private Client Group$125MGoogle News — UBS advisor moves
Jun 10, 2026Fundamentum Advisors (Gabriel, Burns, Johnson — Atlanta, GA)Raymond James & Associates$408MFinancial Advisor IQ
Jun 8, 2026Valen Private Capital (John Durham — Paoli, PA)Sanctuary Wealth (hybrid RIA)$477MWealth Solutions Report
May 28, 2026Unnamed Merrill Lynch advisorNewEdge Wealth—Google News — Merrill Lynch advisor moves
May 22, 2026Ardalan Wealth Management Group (Shyan Ardalan — Los Angeles, CA)Morgan Stanley$830MGoogle News — Merrill Lynch advisor moves
May 13, 2026Twin Harbors Private Wealth (Wang, Ilg, Rizzo, Streim, Napolitano — Melville, NY)Wells Fargo Advisors$1.4BInvestmentNews
Apr 24, 2026Tyler Bybee Lane Morales Group, Merrill Private Wealth (Houston, TX)Rockefeller Global Family Office (Post Oak Wealth Partners)$3.0BAdvisorHub
Apr 1, 2026Soteris Private Wealth (Erickson, Montierth)Sanctuary Wealth (independent)$800MTrade reporting
Apr 1, 2026Clay Young (37-yr veteran)UBS (South Market)$1.0BTrade reporting
Jan 1, 2026Infinity Private Wealth (Palermo, Frangas + 9)Wells Fargo FiNet$1.8BTrade reporting
Oct 1, 2025Munster Freeman GroupWells Fargo Advisors$3.0BTrade reporting
Oct 1, 2025Lewkowitz-Gersten Wealth Management GroupMorgan Stanley (52nd St, NYC)~$1.0BTrade reporting
Oct 1, 2025Hyeon Kang Team (Bellevue, WA)Wells Fargo (Private Client Group)$1.0BTrade reporting
Oct 1, 2025Ascend Private Wealth Partners (Barnett, Ament)Kestra Private Wealth Services$866MTrade reporting
Sep 1, 2025OpenArc Corporate Advisory (formerly GCIAS)Independent RIA (Dynasty / Schwab)$129BTrade reporting
Aug 1, 2025Longleaf Capital Group (Thornell, Singletary, Lee)Arkadios Capital$2.0BTrade reporting
Aug 1, 2025WR Group (Scott Rosenblum, NYC)Rockefeller Global Family Office$400MTrade reporting
Jun 1, 2025Sprenkle Stacy Wealth Management GroupMorgan Stanley Private Wealth$2.0BTrade reporting
Jun 1, 2025Opt Wealth Management (Kyle Vasel, Chicago)Sanctuary Wealth (independent)$260MTrade reporting

Moves are logged from trade press and public announcements, linked to their source where one was captured. AUM appears only where the original reporting disclosed it. This tracker records reported moves; it is not a census of every registration change.

FAQ

Merrill Lynch departures, answered

  • How many advisors have left Merrill Lynch recently?+
    This tracker currently logs 25 reported departures of advisors and teams from Merrill Lynch, with the most recent on Jul 20, 2026. It captures publicly reported moves rather than every registration change; Winthrop & Co.'s State of Advisor Movement report measures the complete producing-advisor picture from registered-rep data.
  • Where do departing Merrill Lynch advisors go?+
    Across the moves tracked here, the most frequent destinations are Morgan Stanley (3), Wells Fargo Advisors (2), Sanctuary Wealth (independent) (2). Destinations span rival employee-model firms, regionals, independent broker-dealers, and RIAs; the full destination-channel analysis is in the State of Advisor Movement report.
  • How current and reliable is this tracker?+
    Entries are collected daily from trade press and public announcements, deduplicated, and linked to their source where one was captured. Assets under management are listed only when the reporting disclosed them; 23 of the 25 tracked moves disclose AUM, totaling roughly $153B. The tracker was last updated Jul 22, 2026.

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