First Republic advisors are seeking safety rather than an entrepreneurial platform given the firm’s fall from grace. To date, Morgan Stanley leads the big firm race for acquiring the top wealth management teams out of First Republic. CEO of Morgan Stanley, James Gorman, has proven to be a formidable acquirer of firms as he’s gobbled up E*Trade, Eaton Vance, and Solium Shareworks, might this continue to give Morgan Stanley an advantage in the race for teams? Time will tell, not to mention the offer packages.
There is no doubt that Morgan Stanley is a well-oiled machine that has stood above the riff raff, at least for now. Interestingly, the recent departure of one big team to Morgan Stanley comes on the heels of the team having left JP Morgan in the summer of 2020, now it will be right back to the big firm culture it had left, a reality many advisors and teams are facing. About $45Million in production has excited to Morgan;
*Vishal Bakshi NY Based had been managing $1.5 billion in assets and generating around $10 million in annual revenue. The three other members of his team, including David A. Greene, Cynthia Lichwick
Chirstopher W. Walters and Marc C. Koch who had been with First Republic in New York City for only four months. They had been managing $500 million in assets and generating around $4.8 million
*Natalie Schnuck joined Morgan Stanley after seven years at First Republic. She had been managing $324 million.
*Zipper-Duarte NY based team, led by Adam Zipper, Joseph Duarte, and Christopher Gates, the 13-person team produced $13 million in revenue with $1.8 billion in assets under management, and was the 36th best in New York for 2023, and 64th on Barron’s list for the top 100 private wealth management teams for 2022.
*Steven Levine took his 4-person team to Morgan Stanley in Miami, taking his $2.4 billion in client assets that generated $8 million in revenue. Levine is on Barron’s list of top 1200 financial advisors for 2023.
*Thomas Moore III, also New York based, the 53rd best in state for 2022 according to Forbes, took his $3.8 million in revenue to Morgan Stanley as well.
Wall Street firms, after having contributed to the $30 billion rescue plan for First Republic, are now direct beneficiaries of First Republic’s problems despite the bailout even if the hope isn’t to poach advisors and teams from the firm. The jockeying for first position for the most sought-after teams is on and hot, hot, hot it is!
Roger Gershman, an industry expert consultant has put together a Special First Republic Portal, says firms like Morgan Stanley seek assistance with from recruiters for FRB advisors, with settings meetings, documentation, deal packages and legal process.
Morgan Stanley has also gone on record saying that it is only fielding inbound inquiries from advisors and recruiters –surely the role of the recruiter in putting advisors at the top of the list is essential in this time of overwhelm and confusion.
