Bank of America Merrill Lynch Snags $1.2B UBS Team in New Mexico

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Snags $1.2B UBS Team in New Mexico

Fri, September 11, 2026 at 6:18 PM GMT+3 1 min read

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Bank of America's Merrill Lynch wealth management team has added to a flurry of advisor recruiting wins this week by adding John Vazquez and Manuel Monasterio in Santa Fe, N.M., along with $1.2 billion in client assets.

The duo, along with four support staff, left UBS to make the move. Vazquez, who had been with the Swiss Bank's North American wealth division since 1999, and Monasterio joined in 2008, according to BrokerCheck.

The team, which was producing about $4.7 million in revenue, will be based in Merrill's Desert Mountain Market and led by Market Executive Elaine Darnell.

Vazquez started his career at Dean Witter Reynolds in 1983, whereas Monasterio started at A.G. Edwards in 2002, according to BrokerCheck.

The move adds to the number of advisors overseeing a combined $1.8 billion that Merrill said earlier this week had joined from Morgan Stanley, Truist and Wells Fargo.

Merrill's wins come as it ramps up advisor recruiting efforts. The firm has reportedly seen the largest net losses among advisors this year through Aug. 13 at 552, according to the most recent data from Wolfe Research.

UBS has also been battling back advisor attrition this year after changing its compensation structure in 2025. The firm ranks sixth among firms with net advisor losses at 190, according to Wolfe. Last week, UBS announced it had drawn over three advisory teams that had been overseeing a combined $2.6 billion from Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

AdvisorHub first reported on Vazquez and Monasterio's move.