July 15, 2021
Louis Diamond Quoted
By Jake Martin and Mason Braswell

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management President Andy Sieg on Wednesday acknowledged an issue with broker attrition and sought to reassure the Thundering Herd that the wirehouse is focused on retention and making Merrill the firm “of choice.”

But Sieg’s commentary may reflect increased levels of concern following some high-end departures, according to an industry recruiter, Louis Diamond, as well as a broker at the firm.

“We continue to see many of the most significant and long tenured teams consider alternative options at a rate unmatched in recent memory,” Diamond, who has moved teams out of Merrill, wrote in an email. “Studying the change in advisor headcount is often a misleading figure because what really matters is the signal that’s sent when the most respected and seemingly happy advisors decide to leave.”

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