Advisor Moves · Morgan Stanley · Merrill Lynch
Merrill's $8M / $1.3B Rising Star Lands at Morgan Stanley After Fierce Recruiting Battle
Shyan Ardalan, a 35-year-old Merrill advisor managing roughly $1.3 billion in Los Angeles, left for Morgan Stanley after spending his entire career at the Thundering Herd.
By Advisor News Network
June 16, 2026
4 min
Related
BAC--MS--
Transition:Merrill LynchMorgan Stanley
$1.3MAUM
In an industry where advisors often chase the highest bid, Morgan Stanley proved it can still win top next-generation talent on more than just economics.
Shyan Ardalan, a 35-year-old Merrill advisor managing approximately $1.3 billion in assets in Los Angeles, left for Morgan Stanley after spending his entire 10-year career at the Thundering Herd. A perennial Forbes-ranked advisor and Top 40 Under 40 recipient, Ardalan had quickly emerged as one of Merrill's rising stars.
He ultimately chose Morgan Stanley because of the combination of flexibility, institutional prestige, technology, banking capabilities, and referral opportunities from the firm's workplace and self-directed channels — advantages he believed competing firms could not replicate long term.
"Shyan runs an extremely impressive business and is one of the most talented next-generation advisors in the industry," said Roger Gershman, a consultant familiar with the transition. "For Morgan Stanley, this is a major win and a very smart long-term investment."
Ardalan's decision to accept a materially lower headline package than competing offers underscores that many next-generation advisors still place significant value on the wirehouse model — particularly the institutional brand, infrastructure, referral ecosystem, and growth support they believe can accelerate scale.
TagsMorgan StanleyMerrill LynchNext GenRecruitingLos Angeles
