Baird has added to its ranks with four advisors from Morgan Stanley, UBS and Northern Trust.They will form two teams in Nashville, Tenn., and Edina, Minn., and collectively oversee around $800 million in assets.The Liles group, a father-son team of Malcolm Liles and William Liles, joins in Nashville. Malcolm Liles joins as director, and they will oversee approximately $585 million with the help of their client relationship assistant Sherri Minunno.Both were previously with Morgan Stanley. Malcolm Liles has more than three decades of experience after beginning at Robinson-Humphrey in 1981 and working his way to Morgan Stanley through a series of mergers.William Liles began his career at Morgan Stanley in 2010 when he joined his father.

via Baird Adds 4 from Morgan Stanley, UBS, Northern Trust | On Wall Street.

An arbitration panels recent decision to deny Wells Fargo Advisors LLCs $30 million raiding claim against crosstown rival Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc. is just the tip of the iceberg in a six-year battle over advisers.More than a dozen raiding claims from Wells Fargo drove Stifel to file a complaint against its rival with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc., alleging a “nationwide scorched-earth litigation campaign against Stifel” and an “ongoing abuse of the judicial and Finra arbitration process.”A first hearing on the case is scheduled to begin next March. In the claim, filed about a year ago but recently obtained by InvestmentNews, Stifel lays out 13 arbitration cases Wells Fargo Advisors has filed since 2007 that accuse Stifel of raiding its branch offices.AdvertisementRather than pursue legitimate claims, Wells Fargo Advisors has engaged in “restraint of trade, abusing the [arbitration] process and trying to intimidate people … from leaving,” said Ron Kruszewski, chief executive of St. Louis-based Stifel.In an interview, Mr. Kruszewski said he thinks he has a good shot at getting an award and stopping what he sees as a vendetta against Stifel by his larger competitor that began in 2007 when he started picking off former A.G. Edwards Inc. brokers after that St. Louis firm was acquired by Wachovia Securities LLC.Wachovia was later taken over by Wells Fargo & Co.

via Stifel turns tables on Wells Fargo with scorched earth claim.

Firms looking to recruit hesitant advisors need to start wooing their families, a new Fidelity survey suggests.“If you have an eye on top producers, you should take the advisor and the spouse out to dinner,” Sanjiv Mirchandani, the president of Fidelity’s clearing division National Financial, said in an interview. Spouses, he adds, “are going to play an important role in the [advisor’s] decision.” Fidelity Investments’ second annual Insights on Independence study explored the motivations and experiences of advisors who moved — or chose not to move — to new firms in the last five years. The study surveyed 783 advisors between November and December, with an average AUM of $150 million, and sorted them into three groups: movers, fence-sitters and entrenched advisors.

via Recruiting and Hiring a Financial Advisor? Fidelity Study Offers Advice | On Wall Street.

Breaking away from the wirehouses has paid off handsomely for financial advisers over the past five years, according to a new study from Fidelity Investments.

Advisers who went from a wirehouse to an independent registered investment adviser or an independent broker-dealer saw compensation increase 36% since 2008, according to Fidelity’s second annual Insights on Independence study.

Those who moved from a wirehouse to another wirehouse or from an independent shop to a wirehouse saw compensation increase 22%, and advisers who stayed put saw compensation increase 17%, according to the survey of 783 advisers with more than $10 million in assets under management.

Advisers who jumped ship reported keeping about 79% of clients.

via Breaking away from wirehouses pays off.

Paul Bagnato has joined the firm’s Mount Kisco, N.Y., office from Wells Fargo, where he oversaw $165 million in client assets and had $1.7 million in production. Bagnato served at Wells Fargo for almost 13 years, according to his registration records with FINRA, following several years with First Union. He reports to branch manager Mark Willis.

via Morgan Stanley Nabs Two Advisors With $300M In Assets | On Wall Street.

Benjamin F. Edwards snapped up nine advisors and opened two offices as it continues to build out its footprint.The St. Louis-based firm, which now has 30 offices, opened its third Florida location with an office in Destin and made inroads into Alabama with a new branch in Birmingham. It also added an advisor to its White Plains, N.Y., and Chattanooga, Tenn., location. The new Birmingham office will be led by branch manager and senior vice president Steven S. Phillips. He has over 20 years of experience, most recently at Wells Fargo. A legacy A.G. Edwards advisor, Phillips came to Wells Fargo in 2008 through a series of mergers. He is joined by Thomas Luttrell, who is a member of the Luttrell Financial Group. Luttrell, who has more than 25 years of experience, is also a legacy A.G. Edwards advisor and joins as vice president – investments. They will be assisted by financial associate Ashley Brook.The other two advisors on the Luttrell Financial Group join in the firm’s new Destin office. James Luttrell Jr., Thomas’ brother, has nearly three decades of industry experience and will be a vice president of the office. He is a legacy A.G. Edwards advisor moving from Wells Fargo.

via Benjamin Edwards Adds 9 Advisors, 2 Offices | On Wall Street.

Hilliard Lyons has bolstered its ranks in its headquarter city of Louisville, Ky., with the addition of two advisors with $200 million in assets.

The advisors previously managed $100 million each with Raymond James Financial Services, the franchisee advisor branch of the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based firm.

Both advisors, Steven J. Smith and Sean Miranda, have 17 years of financial services experience, according to Hilliard Lyons.

via Hilliard Lyons Nabs 2 from Raymond James | On Wall Street.

D.A. Davidson has agreed to merge with Los Angeles-based Crowell Weedon in a deal that will create one of the largest regional brokerage firms on the West Coast.The merger, which was announced to advisors at both firms Wednesday morning, will add some 147 advisors and 14 offices from Crowell Weedon to the existing 320 financial consultants at D.A. Davidson. Combined assets under management will total $43.5 billion. The firms, which are both privately held, did not disclose the price of the deal.“This transaction marks D.A. Davidson’s largest partnership to date, and is a great fit given the individual investor focus and complementary geographies and cultures of our businesses,” Bill Johnstone, chairman and CEO of Davidson Companies, said in a statement. “Aligning Davidson with such a well-respected firm allows us to build on the strengths and reputations of both companies and makes sense for clients, shareholders and employees.”

via Crowell Weedon to Merge with D.A. Davidson | On Wall Street.