Rockefeller Hired Houston's Post Oak Team From Merrill. A Source Put the Book at $3 Billion and $14 Million.

By Intersection Advisory · Advisor Moves

Published: April 24, 2026

Category: Advisor Moves

John H. Tyler, Joseph A. Bybee, Tyler D. Lane, and Malia S. Morales registered with Rockefeller Financial on April 24, 2026, leaving Merrill Lynch in Houston for Rockefeller Global Family Office under the name Post Oak Wealth Partners. AdvisorHub reported that day that a source familiar with the move put annual revenue at $14 million and assets at $3 billion, and that six support staff moved with the four advisors. Financial Advisor magazine, on April 27, reported that the team managed $3.9 billion at Merrill. The magazine did not name the source of that asset figure in the text. It did say a Friday LinkedIn post from Rockefeller announced the team, and it quoted the team site’s description of “comprehensive wealth management services to a select group of high-net-worth individuals and families.” Merrill did not comment to AdvisorHub. The advisors did not comment either. Both asset numbers should stay attached to the outlet that printed them.

At Merrill the practice used the name Tyler Bybee Lane Morales Group, AdvisorHub reported, citing the former firm website. AdvisorHub also said Forbes had ranked the team the top in Texas this year. Forbes’s company page for that Merrill Private Wealth Management team lists John Tyler, Joe Bybee, Tyler Lane, and Malia Morales, with stats marked as of January 2026, and states that teams do not pay for placement on Forbes rankings compiled by Shook Research. The page reviewed for this piece did not display an asset total or a numeric rank. The “top in Texas” claim is AdvisorHub’s report of a Forbes ranking, not a figure read off that page.

How long had they been at Merrill?

BrokerCheck shows four Houston careers that started at Merrill between 2007 and 2009, and a Rockefeller registration on the same Friday AdvisorHub dated the move. These are not advisors finishing a short recruiting note from a prior firm.

| Advisor | BrokerCheck | Rockefeller registration |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Malia S. Morales (CRD 5032482) | Merrill Lynch from May 9, 2007, through April 28, 2026 | April 24, 2026, Rockefeller Financial |

| Joseph A. Bybee (CRD 5340841) | Merrill Lynch from June 13, 2007, through April 28, 2026 | April 24, 2026, Rockefeller Financial |

| Tyler D. Lane (CRD 5453351) | Merrill Lynch from February 6, 2008, through April 28, 2026 | April 24, 2026, Rockefeller Financial |

| John H. Tyler (CRD 5272438) | Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. from April 16, 2007; Merrill Lynch from October 16, 2009, through April 28, 2026. Investment-adviser side shows AllianceBernstein, then Merrill, then Rockefeller Capital Management | April 24, 2026 |

FA Magazine, citing BrokerCheck, said Bybee and Morales began at Merrill in June 2007 and Lane in March 2008. The files above put Morales in May 2007 and Lane on February 6, 2008. The differences are days or weeks, not a different career story. Tyler’s two years at Bernstein before Merrill match both AdvisorHub and FA Magazine. The Rockefeller team page lists Tyler, Morales, Lane, and Bybee as private advisors and managing directors, with credentials including ChFC, CEPA, and CFA on the page’s headings. The page does not publish assets or revenue.

If the AdvisorHub source’s pair is used alone, $14 million of revenue on $3 billion is about 47 basis points. If someone pairs that same $14 million with FA Magazine’s $3.9 billion, the ratio falls to about 36 basis points. The second calculation mixes outlets and should not be treated as a disclosed yield. Either way, the revenue figure has a single named origin — AdvisorHub’s source — and neither firm has confirmed it in the stories. A revenue figure in the low teens of millions, on a multi-billion asset number, usually describes larger households and a planning relationship rather than a transactional book. That is an inference from the ratio, not a client roster.

What kind of firm received them?

AdvisorHub reported that Rockefeller has close to 200 teams and has grown mostly by hiring veteran brokers from larger Wall Street firms. In the same story: the week before Post Oak, Rockefeller hired a Morgan Stanley team managing $1 billion in Oklahoma; in February it hired a solo Merrill advisor who had managed $450 million; it promoted Michael Outlaw, a former Morgan Stanley manager who had run the New York Metro division and firmwide recruiting, to president of the wealth unit; and it reorganized five divisions into six regions — Central, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Northern, Southeast, and Western. AdvisorHub said the reorganization followed a December recapitalization at a $6.6 billion valuation. The story does not say which region received Post Oak, and it does not say what equity, if any, the Houston team received. A family-office platform and a recapitalized owner are both in the public record. The deal terms are not.

AdvisorHub also noted Merrill’s other April movement in the opposite direction, including a California team managing $600 million that went to Sanctuary Wealth, and a private banker from J.P. Morgan. Those are separate moves. They do not net against Post Oak, and they do not tell anyone whether Post Oak’s clients used Bank of America for credit. The only thing the silence from Merrill establishes is that the firm did not dispute, or confirm, the source figures on the day AdvisorHub called.

Rockefeller’s LinkedIn welcome, dated the same Friday, described the team as guiding ultra- and high-net-worth individuals, families, business owners, and entrepreneurs, and as strengthening the Houston presence. That is a firm statement about the kind of work. It is not an asset confirmation. FA Magazine’s $3.9 billion and AdvisorHub’s $3 billion remain side by side. The [Advisor Pulse](https://intersectionadvisory.com/pulse) standard — registration, a second source, and a labeled asset estimate — is the practical way to hold both figures without promoting either one to a fact the firms uttered. What is on the registration record is four long Merrill careers and an April 24 start at Rockefeller. What is not on the record is a client count, a fee split, or a term sheet.

Sources

- https://www.advisorhub.com/rockefeller-lassoes-14m-merrill-private-wealth-team-in-houston/ — April 24, 2026: source figures of $14 million and $3 billion, six support staff, Forbes ranking as reported, Merrill and advisor silence, Rockefeller team count, Oklahoma and February hires, Outlaw promotion, six-region reorganization, $6.6 billion December valuation.

- https://www.fa-mag.com/news/rockefeller-recruits--3-9b-aum-merrill-team-in-houston-86775.html — April 27, 2026: $3.9 billion asset figure, LinkedIn announcement, six support staff, website description, BrokerCheck start dates as FA Magazine stated them.

- https://www.rockco.com/post-oak-wealth-partners/ — Team page: names, managing-director titles, service description. No assets or revenue.

- https://www.forbes.com/companies/tyler-bybee-lane-morales-group/ — Forbes company page listing the four at Merrill Private Wealth Management in Houston, as of January 2026. No asset total on the page reviewed.

- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rockefeller-capital-management_we-are-pleased-to-welcome-post-oak-wealth-activity-7453490168457687041-RxeI — Rockefeller’s April 24 welcome.

- https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/5272438 — Tyler.

- https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/5340841 — Bybee.

- https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/5453351 — Lane.

- https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/5032482 — Morales.

- https://intersectionadvisory.com/pulse — Standard for holding two asset estimates side by side.