Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Robert J. McCann, the former Merrill Lynch & Co. executive who joined UBS AG last month as the head of wealth management in the Americas, hired four former Merrill colleagues to help run the unit.

UBS is hiring Brian Hull and Bob Mulholland, according to a memo McCann sent to employees that was obtained by Bloomberg News and confirmed by Karina Byrne, a UBS spokeswoman. Hull worked under McCann in Merrill’s brokerage division and left shortly after McCann announced he was leaving in January. Mulholland, most recently chairman of Sound Securities LLC, was co-head of Merrill’s U.S. brokerage before announcing his retirement in 2004.

John Brown and Paula Polito will also join UBS, according to the memo. McCann said in the memo that the new hires and current executives will help develop a strategy for the unit.

McCann is leading almost 8,000 financial advisers and is responsible for 694 billion francs ($687.6 billion) in assets under management as he attempts to stem client defections at UBS. Oswald Gruebel, chief executive officer of the Zurich-based bank, has described the U.S. wealth-management unit as “non- core,” and told staff in September he had no plans to sell the division.

The Wall Street Journal reported the hires earlier.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael J. Moore in New York at mmoore55@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 10, 2009 00:00 EST