J.P. Morgan’s wealth management unit has pulled off a recruiting heist, hiring ultra-high-net-worth advisers Eric Gray and Lance Polverini from Merrill Lynch. The Gray-Polverini team has managed about $28 billion in client assets with annual revenue of $10 million.
The private-wealth duo will be based in Los Angeles for J.P. Morgan. Their team following them from Merrill Lynch includes investment associate Drew Sapede and client associates Michelle Blackmer and Irma Deluna.
Gray had been at Merrill Lynch since 2000, while Polverini joined in 2007. Their arrival at J.P. Morgan comes as a large team of private-wealth managers departed J.P. Morgan last month for new roles at the Cresset family office division in San Francisco.