The Thundering Herd continues its exodus out the door with one of the most high-profile teams in the nation. As the very first landmark departures in the 1st week of 2022, The Hirsch Stabile Group overseeing over $1.75BB in client balances and $8.2M in revenue suggests there is much more to come out of Merrill.
Adam Hirsch and Stephen Stabile were not only highly recognized as one of the youngest fastest-growing “Under 40” teams (see below) but also recognized in Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors 2021 list for the 3rd consecutive year (Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” February 2019, January 2020, February 2021). In addition, Stephen Stabile joined Merrill Lynch Wealth management in 2004 and was a member of and keynote speaker for the Merrill Lynch Optimal Practice Management Faculty where he provided training for the firm’s advisors nationally. He also was on a select committee of key teams nationally that actively engaged with Andy Seig regarding strategy to re-build culture, retain talent, and further the interests of advisors practices.
Roger Gershman CEO of The Gershman Group was instrumental in their search for a culture that matched the team’s desire to be part of a boutique firm with a more sophisticated approach to wealth management, opportunity to grow, and the end client user experience to be much more high touch. Gershman says, “First Republic Bank is a world-class bank whose reputation is nothing less than outstanding among its commercial lending clients allowing advisors to be fed significant referrals for growth.” Not only is its platform robust rivaling most any wirehouse, but the service is also demonstrably better. The economic deal packages happen to be more than icing on the cake. Gershman says, “the deal packages offered to the ‘right team’ does not compare to most anything offered in our industry.”
Also, Adam Hirsch who joined Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in 2006 has earned multiple recognition awards including:
*Financial Planning’s “Top 40 Advisors Under 40” List January 2021.
*On Wall Street –“Top 40 Under 40″ January 2020.
*Forbes “Top Next-Generation Wealth Advisors” July 2019 and July 2020.
*Forbes “Best-in-State Next-Generation Wealth Advisors” in September 2019.
The move displays how deep the level of frustration with Merrill/ Bank of America’s direction and the changing culture there. Quotes one confidential sourced advisor, “the firm caters to the lowest common denominator advisor.” He says, “it is no longer Mother Merrill that nurtured me and my business and now it’s only the BOA shareholders who see me as just another number.”