Merrill renames institutional group, hires new team

Oct 4 (Reuters) - Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC.N) has renamed its institutional advising group and hired a new team with $2.7 billion in assets under management, the firm said in an internal memo on Monday.

The name change, to "Global Institutional Consulting" from "Institutional Consulting Group" speaks to the team's effort to put a more international emphasis on client investment needs, director Tom McAuliffe said in an interview on Tuesday.

"We wanted to show the strength of the organization behind the advisers," he said. "When we look across the organization from an institutional perspective, that is where we get commonality - global institutional consulting."

The changes come under the new direction of McAuliffe, a former Morgan Stanley Smith Barney director, who joined Merrill in April. McAuliffe had also previously managed institutional consulting at UBS (UBS.N).

"What I take from my experience at other places is the unique view of this industry and how we operate within such large organizations," McAuliffe said. "We're spending quite a bit of time within and outside the organization, and making sure that the industry is aware of the full capabilities that we can take to the table."

The group also hired a new adviser team from Convergent Wealth Advisors, led by George Dunn. Joining Dunn are Peter Dunne and Bruce Wall. The three collectively manage more than $2.7 billion in assets.

"They've been together for a number of years, dating back to Smith Barney," McAuliffe said.

Merrill's institutional group now has a total 70 advisers, including the new hires, who collectively manage more than $60 billion in assets.

McAuliffe said he hopes to expand the group's adviser base to about 75 by year end.

(Reporting by Ashley Lau; Editing by Chelsea Emery)