Rockefeller poaches 2 teams from Merrill, 1 from Morgan, breaks new ground

Rockefeller Capital Management’s latest recruiting spate has netted it three wirehouse teams in Texas, Cincinnati and Los Angeles — one of which caters to Native American tribes.

The outgrowth of the family office of the same name, led in part by ex-wirehouse executives, Rockefeller has been poaching talent from its largest rivals as it expands to new cities.

Among Rockefeller’s new hires are The Hambleton Fieler Group, which was previously with Merrill Lynch. The team opened a new office for Rockefeller in Cincinnati, the firm’s first in the state. The team includes advisor Ross Hambleton, who recently ranked as a Forbes best in state advisor and who was listed as having $1 billion in team assets.

Hambleton had been registered with Merrill Lynch since 2006, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records.

Moving with him are advisors Michael Fieler; Matthew Hambleton, Ross’ brother; and Andrew Sullivan; Carrie Thomas, chief investment officer; Margaret Hawk chief operating officer; Marcy Maudlin, lead administrative partner; and Kathleen Stucker, senior client associate.

Rockefeller picked up a second Merrill Lynch team this month in San Antonio, its first hire in the Texas city. The firm deems the state a “significant market” for its target demographic, according to a statement.

The new recruits include advisors Elmer Martin, Patty Lawyer and Brett Daniels; senior client associates Judith Fernandez and Sylvia Hydrick; and client associate Terry Pawelek.

Martin, Layer and Daniels started their careers at Merrill Lynch in 1987, 1995 and 2010, respectively.

In Los Angeles, Rockefeller hired former Morgan Stanley advisors Hans Maentz and Bern A. Machlovitch, as well as Ben Helvey, portfolio manager. The team works with wealthy families and specializes in providing institutional investment services to Native American tribes and Alaskan Native corporations, according to Rockefeller.

Maentz and Machlovitch had been with Morgan Stanley since 2008, and previously worked at Lehman Brothers, according to BrokerCheck.

Rockefeller also reported hiring Andrea Lawrence as the head of philanthropy within its Global Family Office. Lawrence joined the firm from Tapestry Advisors, a family office and philanthropy consulting firm that she founded in 2007.