Several more defections from the recently combined Fahnestock/Oppenheimer have occurred in recent weeks. Melvin Jacobs, a large producer and 16-year veteran of Fahnestock and its previous incarnations, was hired at UBS PaineWebber in Pat Mendenhall's complex in Houston. Paul Feinstein and Howard Abrams, previously of Fahnestock in Los Angeles, were hired by UBS to work in their Encino, Calif., office in L.A. in early March. The two were four- and 10-year veterans of CIBC/Oppenheimer, respectively.
Merrill Lynch has hired Michael Russ, a $10 million-plus producer, away from Goldman Sachs. Russ will head Merrill's Dallas private wealth management team and currently oversees several billion in assets. His team and sales assistants will join him in the move.
Greg Allen, a 16-year veteran of Morgan Stanley, was recently hired by Bank of America in the firm's Main Street office in Dallas as national sales director. Bank of America has been on a strong recruiting push as of late, under the auspices of former Morgan Stanley broker exec and current Banc of America Investments CEO Alan Schroder, who told Registered Rep. last year that he planned to expand B of A's brokerage force. Allen will be responsible for all full-service sales management, which includes nearly 1,000 financial advisors.
Bear Stearns has snagged Richard Saperstein, a broker with more than $5.5 billion in assets, away from CIBC Oppenheimer, where he'd worked for 16 years. Saperstein joins Stearns' private client division and will provide cash management services to corporations and investment services to high-net-worth clients. Saperstein was previously profiled by Registered Rep. as one of the top brokers in the United States.
David Bugg, an eight-year veteran of Quick & Reilly was hired at Advest in their Ornsby Park Place office in Louisville, Kentucky.
Bill Van Law, formerly the director of Merrill Lynch's Greensboro, N.C. office, has taken over of senior vice president at Raymond James. He will work as regional manager for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Van Law had worked for Merrill for 18 years, and he will now run Raymond James' Advisor Select Program, which helps advisors run their own office while still working under the Raymond James flag.
In other Raymond James news, Scott Curtis has been named president of Planning Corporation of America, a Raymond James subsidiary. Curtis will take over for James Sipe, who retired after 19 years with Raymond James. Before heading to PCA, Curtis worked for GE Financial in its investment and insurance distribution division.
Leo Dolan, who was renowned for his mutual fund wrap program at SEI Investments, has joined Pennsylvania's Brinker Capital. He is also a former COO of Investor Force/Altvest, an investment information technology company. Dolan will join Brinker's senior management team as a principal and will help oversee the company's operations.
The Private Bank at Bank of America appointed John Taylor the new COO Officer for its trust organization. Taylor was most recently the president and chief executive officer of Bank One Trust Company. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and CPA.
Marcus Hebeler was hired as European director at Kasina, a management consulting firm for the financial services industry.
