Rockefeller lands another top-ranked Merrill Lynch team

Rockefeller has recruited another top-ranked Merrill Lynch team.

The group includes Alpesh Patel, who was recently ranked among Forbes’ top advisors with team assets of $843 million as of Feb. 11. A spokesperson for Rockefeller declined to confirm the team’s current AUM.

Other team members include advisors Matthew Birkett and Darren Siegrist; Hai Dang, team chief operating officer; and Chris Iwamasa, senior client associate. The group, which goes by PBS Wealth Partners, is based in Newport Beach, California.

Patel had worked at Merrill Lynch since 2009, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records. An advisor since 1998, Patel was previously registered with Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Advisors. He works with high-net-worth clients and business owners, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Birkett started his career at Wells Fargo in 2005, moving to Merrill Lynch four years later, according to BrokerCheck.

Siegrist joined the wirehouse in 2017.

A Merrill Lynch spokesperson was unavailable for immediate comment.

Rockefeller’s announcement comes just a week after it said it hired a Merrill Lynch team that included another top-ranked advisor as part of its expansion efforts. Advisors Matthew Richeda and Christopher Farr, who oversaw $331 million according to Forbes, staff a new location for Rockfeller in Denver.

Rockefeller is a spinoff from the family office of the same name. The firm is led by ex-wirehouse executives and now fields 46 teams across the U.S., with offices in 15 cities.