The Johnston Group, formerly with Citi Smith Barney Family Office and Citigroup Global Wealth Management, has joined the

Newport Beach Private Banking and Investment Group at Merrill Lynch.

Michael Johnston, private wealth advisor and senior vice president, investments, leads a seven-member team including his two partners, John Arnold and Michael Mittman. The group will report to Michael Rogers, regional director for the Mountain West region of the private banking and investment group.

Mr Johnston said: "The open-architecture platform at Merrill Lynch gives us the ability to find resources that are best for our clients.”

Prior to joining Citigroup in 2001, Mr Johnston had served as a managing director at Banc of America Securities.