Merrill Lynch Wealth Management said it has further strengthened its business in the Middle East region with the appointment of five financial advisors.

The new hires are Sahba Hadipour, Sandip Aggarwal, Zahoor Hussain, Mustapha Sinno (who will all be based at Dubai office) and Ayad Hachem in the Beirut office.

Hadipour has 27 years of experience in the banking and advisory business. Prior to this, he was a private banker for Barclays Wealth in Dubai, where he worked closely with the Strategic Solutions Group offering private investment banking to high net worth individuals and ultra high net worth individuals in the UAE.

Aggarwal has 20 years of banking experience. Prior to this, he was a senior relationship manager at HSBC Private Bank in Dubai, where he ran a relationship team, covering the ultra high net worth segment.

Hussain has 30 years of experience in private banking and corporate credit. He was earlier an investment director for a Dubai-based family office.

Sinno worked as a relationship manager at HSBC Private Bank focusing primarily on the UAE and Qatar markets. Before that, he worked as a senior investment advisor at Evolvence Capital, where he supervised different phases of GCC investment transactions.

Hachem was a relationship manager at HSBC Private Bank in Beirut before joining Merrill Lynch, and prior to that, he was a global account officer at HSBC Private Bank in Luxembourg, focusing on clients and prospects in the Levant region.

At Dubai office, Hadipour and Aggarwal will report to Tamer Rashad, head of Middle East Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, while Hussain and Sinno will report to Ahmed Barakat, UAE market manager.

Hachem, who will be based in Beirut, will report to Leila Alameddine, Levant market manager.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has a long history in the Middle East. It established its presence in the region some 49 years ago, first opening an office in Beirut, Lebanon.

Commenting on the appointment, Rashad said, "These five new hires are a demonstration of our continued commitment to the Middle East. We are moving forward with our targeted regional growth strategy – attracting the best industry talent and delivering world class services and solutions to our clients."

"Sahba, Sandip, Zahoor, Ayad and Mustapha are outstanding wealth management professionals whose extensive regional experience will further strengthen our team," he added.-TradeArabia News Service