Merrill Lynch has appointed two new financial advisors, Kristjón Grétarsson and Mikael Näss, for its global wealth management business in Luxembourg. 

In their new roles, Mr Grétarsson and Mr Näss focus on ultra high net worth and high net worth clients in Iceland and Sweden respectively.  Both report to Steen Foldberg, global wealth management market leader for the Nordic Region, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Mr Näss joins Merrill Lynch from Kuylenstierna & Skog, where he was a manager in private banking, handling discretionary portfolios and developing investment products for clients. Prior to this he was a financial advisor with LivInvest in Stockholm. Mr Grétarsson joins Merrill Lynch from Glitnir Bank in Luxembourg, having previously held management positions with the Baugur Group.

Mr Foldberg said: “The appointment of Kristjón and Mikael to the Luxembourg team demonstrates our strong commitment to building our wealth management business. The addition of these two highly experienced financial professionals will further enable us to provide our clients with the best wealth solutions.”

The appointment of Mr Grétarsson and Mr Näss follows the firm’s recent hire of two financial advisors for the firm’s emerging markets team in Europe.  Merrill Lynch has offices in 40 countries, and has also recently opened a Riyadh location as part of its Middle East expansion plans.

The company is in the process of a Bank of America takeover, which is expected to be complete by the end of the year. Merrill Lynch brokers have been offered up to 100 per cent of yearly revenue to stay with the new owner, according to reports this week.

Prior to the announcement of the retention package, it emerged last week that a team of four Merrill Lynch advisors, with around $900 million in client assets, had left the firm to start their own independent advice practice in Connecticut.