Andy Sieg out at Merrill, returns to Citi

Andy Sieg is leaving Merrill Wealth Management for Citigroup, returning to the Wall Street rival he last worked for 13 years ago.

After a required six-month leave, Sieg will become the new head of Citi Global Wealth in September and report directly to Citi CEO Jane Fraser, according to an internal Citi memo dated March 30.

Sieg worked at Citi from 2005 to 2009. He had been at Bank of America's Merrill since then, serving first as head of Global Wealth & Retirement Solutions, then as president of Merrill in 2017. 

Sieg is replaced by Lindsay Hans and Eric Schimpf, who were named presidents and co-heads of Merrill Wealth Management. Both executives will report to Bank of America CEO and chairman Brian Moynihan. 

The Merrill appointments were announced Thursday in a press release. They are effective immediately, a spokesperson for Merrill said in an email. 

Sieg's surprise departure, one of the biggest C-suite poaches on Wall Street and a move that impacts Merrill's "thundering herd" of brokers and advisors, could position Citi to expand its wealth management footprint in the U.S. Sieg oversaw strategies at Merrill that more than doubled advisors' average assets from new clients to $1.7 million over a decade.

"Andy's decision to join Citi sends a strong signal about the potential of our wealth proposition and the attractiveness of our unique global offering," Fraser said in the internal memo, which was provided by a Citi spokesperson. "Growing Wealth is a core pillar of our strategy and will improve our business mix by adding more fee-based revenue and drive improved returns." 

Fraser added in the memo that Citi's new COO, Anand "Selva" Selvakesari — the bank's former CEO of personal banking and wealth management who was promoted last week — had planned with her to find someone who "has a track record of driving growth, who has deep experience in the U.S. where we aim to grow significantly and who will be well positioned to drive global synergies between Wealth and our four other core businesses." 

Sieg's experience at Merrill, where he oversaw 25,000 employees and around 15,000 advisors who managed a collective $2.8 trillion of assets, made him a prime candidate for the role. 

"He also is no stranger to Citi, having worked at our bank for four years as a member of our Wealth team," Fraser wrote in the memo. 

In a statement, Sieg called his sudden move "a fantastic opportunity to build a leading wealth management business at the world's most global bank at a time of massive wealth creation worldwide.

"There is a transformation underway at Citi, and I am excited about becoming part of a team that's driven to deliver for clients, colleagues and shareholders." 

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Just last month, new co-head Hans was a regional division executive. Merrill had promoted Hans to be the new head of private wealth management, international and institutional groups in February, following private wealth head Don Plaus's sudden retirement. 

Co-head Schimpf joined Merrill as a financial advisor in 1994, the release said. He "served for six years as division executive, first for the Southeast and most recently for the Pacific Coast. He also has been serving as co-head of the Enterprise Advisor Development program," the bank said. 

"Lindsay and Eric have excelled as leaders, delivering outstanding results for our advisors and clients," Moynihan said in the statement announcing the changes. "I'm looking forward to them building on the success and long tradition of Merrill in the years ahead."

The company declined to comment on Sieg's move, but noted in its announcement that it appreciated Sieg's leadership of Merrill "through a period of sustained growth and modernization of technology for advisors and clients."

Under Sieg, the firm adopted a "Modern Merrill" strategy that included digitizing processes for advisors and helping them market more effectively online to clients, as well as improve the digital client experience. He also called for broader efforts within the firm as well as across the industry to improve outreach to what he termed the diversifying "face of wealth" in the U.S.  

Sieg replaces Jim O'Donnell in the role at Citi, and O'Donnell will transition to be Executive Vice Chairman of Citi and Head of Senior Client Engagement, the Citi memo said.