Bank of New York's Pershing reorganizes top management

Former MetLife broker-dealer executive John Brett has joined Pershing LLC to run its managed investment business, the latest in a series of top management changes at Bank of New York Mellon Corp's securities services subsidiary.

Pershing is the securities industry's biggest provider of back-office, lending and investment products to brokerage firms, hedge funds and independent wealth advisers.

Brett, who joined in mid-February as a member of Pershing's executive committee, oversees fee-based products such as separately managed accounts and other asset-management programs offered by Pershing's Lockwood Advisors affiliate and other third parties to advisers who are not directly involved as portfolio managers.

He replaced James Seuffert, a cofounder of Lockwood, who retired last year.

Bank of New York bought Lockwood in 2002 and Pershing in 2003, and has been altering its various custodial configurations ever since.

Former Pershing CEO executive Brian Shea, who had been with the company since 1983, shifted in January to head investment services and client technology at the parent bank, and retains his position as chairman of Pershing. Bank of New York at the time combined its broker-dealer services, clearing, corporate trust and global markets and collateral businesses - including Pershing - into an investment services division head by bank executive Timothy Keaney.

Shea's CEO role at Pershing was assumed by Ron DeCicco, who joined the clearing firm in 1971 when it was part of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. He was most recently chief operating officer of Pershing.

Lisa Dolly, a 15-year Pershing veteran who had been overseeing managed investments, has replaced DeCicco as COO.

Brett did not return a call for comment, but a Pershing spokesman confirmed his arrival. Until last November, Brett was chairman and senior vice president of MetLife Broker-Dealer Group and its five independent brokerage units that service some 8,000 brokers. MetLife has not yet named a permanent replacement for the group, a spokeswoman said.

Brett has previously worked in broker-dealer fund sales at Merrill Lynch and at fund companies BlackRock Inc and Lord Abbett & Co.

(Reporting By Jed Horowitz; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)