Bob McCann, who once ran Merrill Lynch’s thundering herd of some 16,000 brokers, will run UBS’ brokerage business, The Post has learned.
McCann left Merrill after it was acquired by Bank of America in January. The former wealth management boss accepted an offer from the Swiss bank after settling a lawsuit he filed against his former employer, which banned him from taking a similar position to his old one for two years.
UBS boasts some 8,000 brokers but is less than half the size of rivals Merrill Lynch and the merged Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.
McCann is expected begin a poaching binge from some of thosecompetitors, but one source notes that he may have struck a deal not to lure brokers from Merrill’s ranks.
It remains unclear what impact McCann’s hiring will have on Marten Hoekstra, who has run UBS’ wealth management unit since 2005.
Sources tell The Post that he wasn’t aware UBS CEO Oswald Grubel was looking to make a change at the top of his area.
Sources say McCann will likely start work at the end of the month.