The brokerage firm Stifel, Nicolaus & Co has added Bruce Gould from Morgan Stanley Wealth Management to its New York-based private client group, Reuters has reported. 

Gould managed $374 million in client assets at Morgan Stanley and joined Stifel's Garden City office as a senior vice president of investments.

The firm had not responded to a request from Family Wealth Report to confirm the move at the time of publication.

Gould has worked in the financial advice industry for over four decades and was an advisor at Citigroup’s Smith Barney prior to joining Morgan Stanley, the report says.

In related news, last month Stifel brought in Michael Wallace and Todd Belfiore from UBS to launch a new private client office in Tampa, FL (view details here).

Meanwhile, Stifel has also entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Acacia Federal Savings Bank, a one-branch community bank with approximately $745 million in total assets as of March 31, 2013.

According to Ronald Kruszewski, chairman, president and chief executive of Stifel, the acquisition is “consistent with Stifel Bank’s long-term strategy to principally serve our global wealth management business in a low risk, profitable manner.” The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in December 2013. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co is a subsidiary of St Louis, MO-based Stifel Financial.