Bank of America has effectively kept Andy Sieg in his position as a spokesman for what they want to be said when they want it said, and how they want it said. Nothing more and nothing less.
And yesterday he did just that. Take a look at his quotes regarding legitimately crippling attrition at Merrill Lynch:
“For all these positives, there will always be areas needing focus from leadership. Right now, it’s competitive attrition–higher in this quarter than we’d like to see,” said Mr. Sieg.
“Some of the increase can be attributed to seasonal trends, a bit like what we saw in 2019.”
What? Huh? Please explain a ‘seasonal trend’ in advisor recruiting? And has that same seasonal trend extended over a five-year period as Merrill has led all of its rivals in losing teams and client assets?
And what is the plan to combat the rise in attrition? Commercials aired during MLB baseball game broadcasts. Seriously, LOL.
It is a comedy of errors at a place that for half a century set the pace in the wealth management industry. And Andy Sieg is the face of its continued decline.
**A side note: while Mr. Sieg is proclaiming that aggressive advisor attrition is merely ‘seasonal’ Merrill is prepping for a rumored exit from the broker protocol by instituting aggressive client retention teams across the country. The client retention teams were actually announced by the firm last week. All of that to say this – if you’re still at Merrill, why?
