July 17, 2021

1. Merrill Deploys ‘Client Experience’ Teams to Retain Assets of Departing Brokers
   Through a program that began in November, Merrill specialists have been rapidly reaching out to customers of departing brokers to pitch clients on staying behind.
   
2. Ex-Merrill Broker Wins Expungement of Termination Notice After 2019 Move to Stifel
   Merrill had settled an underlying claim for $19,503 and asked the arbitrator to deny the broker’s expungement request.
   
3. No Total Ban on Non-Competes Expected, Despite Biden Executive Order
   But the language of the order issued Friday raised hopes among advocates for broker mobility for more favorable policies in the future.
   
4. Merrill’s Sieg Nods to ‘Competitive’ Attrition Issue in Call with Brokers
   Merrill’s president, on a quarterly pre-recorded call to brokers, singled out “competitive” attrition as an area “needing focus from leadership,” also noting that it was “higher this quarter than we’d like to see.”
5. Morgan Stanley Looks to Restrain $2.75-Mln Producer in CO and NJ Who Left for UBS
   Mike Crotty, who had joined Morgan Stanley’s Smith Barney predecessor in 2007, moved to rival UBS last week, but not before giving some clients a heads-up he was leaving, the wirehouse claims in a suit.