Merrill Lynch continued its recruiting push through late spring, announcing four new advisor teams this week even as industry data shows the wirehouse experienced a net loss of advisors in May. The additions span from Colorado to Louisiana, bringing a combined $1.7 billion in client assets and roughly $6.8 million in trailing production.
The largest hire is Todd Hatfield, a 25-year veteran of Morgan Stanley and legacy Smith Barney, who joins Merrill's Boulder, Colorado office with approximately $1.5 billion in client assets and $4.3 million in annual production. Hatfield, a perennial Forbes top advisor list honoree, brings three wealth management client associates: Jennifer Feeney, Susan Mohacey, and Melissa Hatfield. The team joins the Mountain Plains Market under market executive Ivette Plaza.
Merrill also recruited James Bee, a 30-year industry veteran, from Morgan Stanley to its Manchester, New Hampshire office. Bee brings $131 million in client assets and roughly $1 million in production, joining the Northern New England Market led by Gina Hall. Additionally, David Parrish moved from Wells Fargo to Southlake, Texas with $125 million in assets and $800,000 in production, joining the Fort Worth & Associates Market under Scott McConaghy. Next-gen advisor Anthony McMasters relocated from Edward Jones to Shreveport, Louisiana with $100 million in assets and $700,000 in production, part of the Dallas & Associates Market.
Late last month, Merrill welcomed Peter Choy, a nearly 20-year UBS veteran, to its Nashville, Tennessee office. Choy, a West Point graduate and recurring Forbes honoree, manages $460 million in assets and generates $4.3 million in annual production. He joined alongside three support staff in the Volunteer State Market.
These hires come amid a broader industry backdrop of accelerating advisor movement. Data compiled by AdvizorPro shows more than 2,100 advisor transitions occurred across the industry in May alone. Within that snapshot, Merrill posted 54 inflows—the third-highest count among all firms tracked, behind only LPL Financial and J.P. Morgan Securities—but also recorded 85 outflows, resulting in a net loss of 31 advisors for the month.
This two-way churn is not unique to Merrill. J.P. Morgan Securities and Morgan Stanley also appeared near the top of both inflow and outflow rankings in May, a pattern that may reflect internal reorganization or team-level dissatisfaction alongside active recruiting. Industry-wide, 2025 proved a record year for advisor movement, with more than 11,000 experienced advisors changing firms, according to a report from recruiting and consulting firm Diamond Consultants.
Wirehouses as a group lost a net 302 advisors last year, but Merrill's headcount trends largely mirrored 2024, even as recruiting deal structures across the industry—including Merrill's—have grown more aggressive in response to competitive pressure from independent platforms and rival wirehouses. Merrill's 2025 record was tainted in part by the historic OpenArc breakaway to the Dynasty Financial Network, which triggered a legal dispute that persisted into this year. Still, the Diamond Consultants report stressed that headline numbers undersell positive momentum in Merrill's retention efforts.
For advisors considering transitions, the current environment underscores the importance of evaluating both recruiting offers and retention packages. As WestPac notes, fragmented advice teams can leave concentration risk unmanaged for affluent clients. Meanwhile, a recent study shows advisory profit margins hit 38.6% even as new-client growth stalls at 3.7%, highlighting the competitive pressures driving advisor movement.
