Snowden Lane hires Morgan Stanley adviser for $400M team

A Morgan Stanley adviser left to join a team of ex-wirehouse advisers at Snowden Lane Partners, an independent firm.

Michelle Begina joined Snowden's VERITAS team in New York. The group oversees more than $400 million, according to the company.

Begina, an industry veteran of 20 years, had been with Morgan Stanley since 2008, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records. She previously worked at Merrill Lynch.

She partnered with the VERITAS team in part because of shared business philosophies, Begina said in a statement.

• Going independent
• Hightower
• Wells Fargo
• Raymond James Financial
• Career moves
• Morgan Stanley
• LPL Financial
• Dynasty Financial Partners
• UBS
• Merrill Lynch
• Recruiting
• RIAs

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A Morgan Stanley spokeswoman was unavailable for immediate comment.

Snowden Lane was founded in 2011 by several former Merrill Lynch executives. Chairman Lyle LaMothe was head of Merrill Lynch U.S. Wealth Management and CEO Rob Mooney was the wirehouse's general counsel.

The independent firm has recruited a number of wirehouse advisers and opened offices in San Diego, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Pasadena, California, New Haven, Connecticut, and Bethesda, Maryland.

Snowden Lane has more than $3 billion in total client assets.

Last month, Snowden Lane recruited a Wells Fargo team that managed $125 million in client assets. Advisers David Lautz and Francisco Malfavon, who specialize in serving wealthy international clients, joined the firm in San Diego.