Year in Review: Top Recruiting Stories of 2018

Top five “move” stories, ranked by page views, in 2018:
After 15 years, a Los Angeles banker made the unusual shift in February from a traditional bank business to Merrill’s PBIG unit.
2. $22-Million Merrill Team in Boston Splits for First Republic
Upstart San Francisco-based bank sends cross-country shockwaves by recruiting a 15-person team in April from its former owner that produced more than $22 million and oversaw some $4.5 billion of customer assets.
3.Powerhouse UBS Team in Houston Leaves for Independence
Despite UBS’s recent departure from the Protocol for Broker Recruiting, a $9-million Texas trio left in April to form a registered investment advisory firm.
In September, it was UBS’s turn to lose a big-producing California team to First Republic.
After a year seeding the management team of the newly capitalized Rockefeller Capital multi-family office with former Morgan Stanley and Merrill colleagues, Greg Fleming in December recruits $13 million of production from a wirehouse where he never worked.