A shorter version of this story ran yesterday as a breaking news item.
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management President Andy Sieg is leaving after six years at the wirehouse’s helm to take leadership of Citigroup’s Global Wealth division.
Sieg had led Merrill since 2017. He was previously in charge of the firm’s global wealth and retirement solutions divisions. He first joined the wirehouse as an analyst in 1992 before leaving to join Citigroup as a senior wealth management executive in 2005 and then returning to Merrill in 2009.
Bank of America has appointed Lindsay Hans and Eric Schimpf to replace him as presidents and co-heads of Merrill.
Hans and Schimpf will join Bank of America’s executive management team and oversee more than 25,000 Merrill employees, Bank of America stated in a press release. The duo will report to Bank of America’s chairman and chief executive officer, Brian Moynihan.
Hans was most recently head of Merrill’s international and institutional private wealth management business and previously a division executive for six years, first for the Mid-Atlantic and then for the Northeast. She joined the firm in 2014.
Schimpf joined Merrill in 1994 as a financial advisor and has served as a division executive for six years, first for the Southeast and then for the Pacific Coast. Hans has also been co-head of the firm’s Enterprise Advisor Development Program.
Hans will continue as a member of the firm’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Council and as a national executive sponsor of the Merrill Women’s Exchange, while Schimpf will continue as executive sponsor for the firm’s Black Professionals Group, according to Bank of America.
At Citigroup, Sieg will report to CEO Jane Fraser and become a member of the executive management team. He is required to take a six-month leave before he begins his new role, so he will start in September, according to a letter by Fraser. Jim O’Donnell will continue as head of Global Wealth until Sieg’s arrival, after which O’Donnell will transition to a new role as executive vice chairman of Citi and head of senior client engagement, Fraser wrote in the letter.
“This is 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,” Sieg said in a statement.
Growing the wealth business “is a core pillar of our strategy and will improve our business mix by adding more fee-based revenue and drive improved returns,” Fraser wrote in the letter.
During his time at Merrill Lynch, Sieg had served on Bank of America’s executive management team and oversaw the firm’s investment solutions group, including its chief investment office.
He played an instrumental role in developing Merrill’s unified investment platform, and last year he pushed for greater diversity in hiring in the financial advice industry, to meet the needs of an evolving client base, as reported.
Sieg had also been ramping up Merrill’s competitive recruiting efforts. A year ago he announced an initiative to increase its advisor force by 3% to 4% per year over the next decade.
Adding more experienced advisors allows the firm to generate broader revenue streams and reinvest in technology and talent, Sieg said at RBC Capital Markets‘ Global Financial Institutions conference.
–Additional reporting by Tony Rifilato.
Source: financialadvisoriq.com
