June 7, 2021
(Updated to note additional departure of Lubin in Baltimore.)
At least five of Merrill Lynch’s roughly 105 market executives have left the firm since April with four of those departures happening last week, according to sources familiar with the moves.
The departures, who had more than 75 years combined at Merrill and Bank of America, include: Phillip R. Porpora, who led the Greater Kansas City Market; Stanley L. Stephens, who ran Texas Community Market West from Dallas-Fort Worth; Livingston Albritten, who led the Memphis Metropolitan Area and Little Rock; and Jessica B. Miller, who led the Lone Star Market in San Antonio. A fifth, Amy E. Smart, who oversaw Central Minnesota from Minneapolis-St. Paul, left in mid-April.
Three have agreed to join Morgan Stanley Wealth Management following their required 60-day garden leaves while one is said to be joining an independent firm and another is evaluating offers.
The departures stood out, according to current and former managers, because they followed four other exits earlier in the year, happened in relatively quick succession and included veteran names as well as four who are diverse.
They also came after Merrill realigned its market and divisional managers’ compensation resulting in a roughly 30% cut to its bonus pool for market executives this spring.
A number of market executives who did not meet “scorecard” criteria, which are based on customer and asset growth, banking sales, advisor retention and other goals, saw more severe cuts while others received one-time stock grants that made up for some of the decline. The firm also changed its scorecard metrics late in 2020, which frustrated some managers whose rankings fell as a result, sources said.
“The scorecard world is a difficult one,” said a Merrill manager with knowledge of the departures. “The people who survive drive every single thing that the firm wants regardless of whether the advisors like it.”
A spokesman for Merrill Lynch confirmed the exits but said that the number of market executive departures so far this year is “consistent” with last year’s attrition rate. All of the five roles have been replaced with a permanent candidate or interim leader while the firm searches for a longterm manager, he said.
“We have a deep bench of diverse talent across the country which we continue to align to support our advisors and record growth,” the spokesman said in a statement.
In addition, since 2017, diverse candidates have represented 60% or more of each year’s class within the firm’s Market Executive Leadership Academy, the two-year…
Read More: Merrill Managers on the Move: Four Market Execs Leave in a Week