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There's a massive poaching raid going on at Lehman's old wealth management shop
(Reuters) An asset that once belonged to Lehman Brothers is besieged by recruiters.
When Lehman Brothers went belly-up in 2008, Barclays stepped in to acquire its wealth management business.
Now Barclays is selling the business to Stifel Financial Corp.
This sale is leading to a recruitment frenzy on Wall Street, according to sources.
Business Insider spoke to Wall Street insiders for the latest take on the Lehman legacy, as well as some recent departures.
Barclays’ wealth management division employs about 180 advisers.
“They are interviewing all over the street,” says one source of Barclays’ wealth management talent. "Barclays invested next to nothing in the business while they owned it."
Merrill Lynch and Citigroup are said to be among the top two firms taking a look at Barclays’ top wealth managers.
“There had already been a lot of attrition” since Lehman’s 2008 failure, a second banking source noted. “But this is the end of the Lehman legacy business as you knew it."
“Other competitors like HighTower Advisors and Raymond James could take rainmakers,” another wealthy manager said.
Sources said Barclays’ ownership of the Lehman asset saw dozens of staffers leave. A Reuters story at the time Stifle acquired the business noted that headcount at Barclays’ wealth management shop it acquired from Lehman could have fallen my 100 people or more.
Keith Canton split the Lehman business to join JP Morgan this spring.
Wells Fargo hired Maureen Clancy and Michael Blaustein earlier this year. The pair managed $650 million at Barclays.
James Clarke and Philip Weyhe, who managed nearly $300 million, split about a year ago. They wound up at Merrill Lynch.
Barclays isn't just taking this lying down. "We have initiatives going on to retain staff," a current employee said. "We have good people."
Barclays declined to comment when contacted by Business Insider. But in fairness to the firm, Barclays has also been doing some hiring in the UK. This includes adding UK wealth management pros in Southern England and adding to Manchester and Glasgow offices. The bank is widely seen as reducing its exposure to the US.
Business Insider is keeping tabs on Wall Street’s high-flying wealth managers during a very busy 2015 recruiting season. If we’re missing out on any big names’ moves, you can reach us at Jmarino@businessinsider.com with more updates.
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