J.P. Morgan Recruits Financial Advisor From Merrill Who Oversaw $940 Million in Assets — Barrons.com

What happened

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management hired Tiffany Yu, a Los Angeles advisor from Merrill Lynch who oversaw $940 million in client assets. She joined on Oct. 30 in the Century City neighborhood and works in the Elevate Wealth Partners practice with advisor Eric Gray.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

Advisors often bring their clients when they move, so hiring someone who oversaw $940 million can shift client assets and the fees earned from managing them toward J.P. Morgan and away from Merrill, which is owned by Bank of America.

Analyst inference

J.P. Morgan is adding advisors in California, where it has 240 branches and about 4,500 Los Angeles employees. It recently hired David Amar, who managed $1.1 billion, and Linda Patel from Merrill, showing competition for advisors with large client books.

Analyst inference

What to watch

1. Yu spent three decades at Merrill and first registered as a broker in 1998, so whether her clients follow her to J.P. Morgan will shape the assets the firm actually gains. Confirmed
2. Watch whether J.P. Morgan announces more advisor hires in Los Angeles, since the firm says the hire strengthens its ability to meet growing client demand there. Proposed
3. If more Merrill advisors leave for rivals, Bank of America's wealth unit could lose client assets and the recurring fees they generate, pressuring revenue from that business. Analyst inference

Evidence

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