At a glance
- John Vazquez and Manuel Monasterio, along with four support staff, left UBS for Merrill.
- Vazquez had been with UBS’s North American wealth division since 1999 and Monasterio joined it in 2008, according to BrokerCheck.
- Their team produced about $4.7 million in revenue.
Bank of America's Merrill Lynch hired a UBS team in Santa Fe, N.M., that oversaw $1.2 billion in client assets, according to WealthManagement.com, which credited AdvisorHub with first reporting the move.
John Vazquez and Manuel Monasterio, along with four support staff, left UBS for Merrill.
The hire extends a recruiting week in which Merrill said advisors overseeing a combined $1.8 billion had joined from Morgan Stanley, Truist and Wells Fargo.
Vazquez had been with UBS’s North American wealth division since 1999 and Monasterio joined it in 2008, according to BrokerCheck.
Their team produced about $4.7 million in revenue. It will sit in Merrill’s Desert Mountain Market under Market Executive Elaine Darnell.
| Move | Firms | Assets |
|---|---|---|
| Vazquez and Monasterio, plus four support staff | UBS to Merrill | $1.2 billion |
| Advisors hired earlier in the same week | Morgan Stanley, Truist and Wells Fargo to Merrill | $1.8 billion |
| More than three advisory teams | Merrill and Morgan Stanley to UBS | $2.6 billion |
Merrill has seen the largest net losses among advisors this year through Aug. 13, at 552, according to Wolfe Research data cited in the coverage.
UBS, the Santa Fe team’s former employer, ranks sixth among firms with net advisor losses of 190 after changing its compensation structure in 2025.
Wolfe’s count runs only through Aug. 13, so teams that joined after that date would not appear in it.
Reported by the Moves desk from WealthManagement.com, AdvisorHub, Financial Advisor Magazine, BrokerCheck (cited within WealthManagement.com), Wolfe Research (cited within WealthManagement.com) and Movement history records. Published . Updated Oct 27, 2026 · 10:24 a.m. ET. Corrections