BofA's private bank picks up $5B advisor from Citi

BofA's private bank lands $5B ex-Citi advisor: Advisor Moves

April 25, 2025 1:04 PM

Portrait of cheerful young manager handshake with new employee.

Edward Jones announced last year that it's moving into the full-service financial planning business, and now it's shaking up its leadership ranks in response.

Meanwhile, Bank of America's private bank scored a big recruiting deal from Citi, and Rockefeller pulled over a couple of teams from Merrill. Check it out below.

Bank of America Private Bank lands $5B advisor from Citi

Bank of America's Private Bank is bolstering its presence in New York with an advisor pulled from Citi.

Nicole Nunag is joining Bank of America as a managing director and private client advisor. She had previously managed $5 billion at Citi.

Nunag has more than two decades of experience in private client banking. Her career began in 1999 at J.P. Morgan Securities, according to BrokerCheck. She moved to Citigroup in 2016. Her position at Bank of America will have her working with a diverse array of clients, including financial sponsor principals, real estate developers, art collectors and foundations and endowments.

Rockefeller snags Merrill teams with $1.6B in AUM

Rockefeller Capital Management's global family office has tapped into Merrill's talent pool, securing two advisory teams in Chicago.

Rathi Wealth Partners, led by the private advisors Raj Rathi and Dean Turner, and Singh Wealth Partners, comprising private advisors Kanwar Singh and Steve Coleman, are joining Rockefeller from Merrill. According to Forbes data from March 2024, Rathi Wealth Partners oversees roughly $916 million and Singh Wealth Partners manages about $722 million.

The recruiting deals give Rockefeller 10 wealth management teams in the greater Chicago area, the firm announced. Rathi's team also includes the wealth manager John Clayton Bowers and senior client associates Stacey Specht and Patrick Gawne, who specialize in working with high net worth and ultrahigh net worth clients and families.

Singh's team includes the senior investment associate Chandra Federle, senior client relationship manager Krishna Vege and senior client associate Savannah Neal.

Rathi, Singh and Coleman all joined Merrill Lynch from UBS in October 2014. Turner came to Merrill from UBS about five months later, according to BrokerCheck records.

Rathi has 29 years of industry experience and also worked previously at Lehman Brothers and J.P. Morgan. Singh has 21 years of experience and was previously registered with Chicago Analytic Trading and Valence Capital Group. Coleman also has 21 years of experience, and his past affiliations include Oppenheimer, Fahnestock Asset Management and CIBC World Markets. Turner has 12 years of experience and was previously registered with Midwestern Securities Trading.

These deals follow on Rockefeller's recruitment last week of a New Jersey-based UBS advisory team that reportedly oversaw over $2 billion in client assets.

RBC Wealth picks up $500M team from Merrill

RBC Wealth Management is adding to its Austin branch with a three-person team recruited from Merrill.

The MK Group joins RBC from Merrill Private Wealth Management, where it had $500 million in client assets under management. The team consists of Nancy McDonald and Jason Khawaja, both senior vice presidents and financial and private wealth advisors, and Alexandria Hardcastle, a senior client associate.

Khawaja and McDonald have worked together for more than 13 years, specializing in helping high net worth clients. Khawaja's expertise lies in portfolio management, institutional investing and asset management. McDonald, previously a lawyer, concentrates on wealth structuring, credit and lending, philanthropic plans and legacy and tax planning.

Khawaja started at Merrill in 2020 after six years at UBS. Before that, he was at Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Waterstreet Investment Consultants.

McDonald has 16 years of industry experience. She also joined Merill in 2020 after six years at UBS. Before that, she was at Wells Fargo for three years.

LPL recruits $350M advisory firm from Osaic

LPL Financial LLC has brought on Synergy Wealth Strategies, an advisory firm formerly affiliated with Osaic.

Synergy Wealth was founded by James Verdi in 2008 in Smithtown, New York. He previously managed roughly $350 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets. The firm chose to go with LPL Financial out of a desire to improve its client service and technology and build its business.

Verdi has 25 years of industry experience. He started at Morgan Stanley in 2000 and moved to Merrill in 2005. In 2008, he went to American Portfolios Financial, which was bought by Osaic in 2022. LPL has nearly 29,000 advisors and manages more than $1.7 trillion in assets.

Raymond James adds $325M advisory practice from Edward Jones

Raymond James is adding to its presence in Alaska with an advisor who has joined its independent channel from Edward Jones.

Al Biss, who had formerly managed roughly $325 million at Edward Jones, will operate Biss Wealth Partners as part of Raymond James Financial Services, the firm's unit for independent advisors. Joining him is the registered representative Vanessa Carpenter.

Biss has more than 25 years of industry experience. He started at Edward Jones in 1998.

Raymond James reported in October that it had 8,787 advisors. Of those, 3,826 were direct employees and 4,961 were independent contractors.

Edward Jones reshuffles exec ranks amid new emphasis on financial planning

As part of a shift to offering comprehensive financial planning, Edward Jones is restructuring its leadership ranks.

The company announced this week that several executives will take on new roles starting in June as part of what it describes as its "next chapter."

David Chubak, the head of branch development and the U.S. business unit at Edward Jones, will become the head of wealth management and field management. He'll be succeeding Lena Haas, the current head of wealth management advice and solutions, who plans to retire by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, David Gunn, now head of Edward Jones' Canadian operations, will add oversight of the U.S. business unit to his current responsibilities. Kristin Johnson, now chief transformation officer, will become chief operating officer; Andy Miedler, no chief financial officer, will also take charge of data and digital teams; and Frank LaQuinta, now head of digital, data, and operations, will retire at the end of 2025.

These shifts come amid a bevy of other big changes at Edward Jones. The firm recently announced that it filed paperwork in its second attempt to establish an industrial bank. Edward Jones has also introduced a private client unit dedicated to working with high net worth clients.

Penny Pennington, the CEO and managing partner at Edward Jones, said in a statement that this year marks the firm's transition to a full-service financial planning firm. By the end of 2024, Edward Jones had more than 20,000 financial advisors in North America, managing $2.2 trillion for more than 9 million clients.