A roundup of wealth management moves for February.

Global investment firm Cambridge Associates promoted two established figures, Noel O’Neill to president and head of global investing and Ashby Hatch to head of global investment research.

O’Neill will oversee the firm’s research and four client practices: Endowments and foundations, pensions, private clients, and the outsourced investment business CA Capital Management. O’Neill joined Cambridge Associates in 1995 and most recently served as head of global investment research, where he managed portfolios and helped build stronger links between the research and investing teams. Hatch joined the firm’s research team in 1993 and took over from O’Neill in heading all private and public asset class research across the firm.

Northeastern law firm Wiggin and Dana appointed Carolyn Reers as a private client services partner in its Greenwich and New York offices. Reers has more than 25 years of experience representing and serving affluent individuals, their closely-held companies and family offices, with a focus on international estate and tax planning. Prior to joining Wiggin and Dana, Reers was a partner at a "leading international law firm", the organization said, where she focused on all aspects of trust and estate planning and administration. Before this, Reers was managing director at JP Morgan Private Bank. 

CIBC US Private Wealth Management added three senior figures to its team: Jeffrey Lee, Lawrence Li and Robert Gaudette. Lee, CFA, was named vice president and senior investment analyst in Boston, focusing on hedge fund investments within the multi-manager investment program. Prior to joining the firm, Lee served as an expert-in-residence at SOSV, a $500 million venture capital firm.

Li was named senior vice president and senior investment analyst in Boston, providing broad support for the firm’s proprietary investment strategies team. Prior to joining the firm, he was a vice president at Sunley House Capital Management, where his primary focus was covering the technology, media and telecom sectors in the Americas. Previously, he was an associate at Charlesbank Capital Partners, where he participated in various board activities for portfolio companies and conducted market research and due diligence.

Gaudette, CTFA, was named vice president and client service manager in Atlanta and joins the firm with more than 20 years of industry experience. In this role, he works closely with relationship managers to provide comprehensive client service and account administration for high net worth individuals, families and foundations. Prior to joining the firm, Gaudette was a trust advisor at SunTrust Private Wealth Management, where he was responsible for the administration of fiduciary client relationships and provided guidance on various estate planning, fiduciary and taxation matters. Previously, he was a trust officer with US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management.

Raymond James created a Southern New England complex led by former Morgan Stanley senior manager Bill Drew. At Morgan Stanley, Drew was executive director and complex manager for branches in the Greater Boston area. He became a financial advisor in 1995 at Smith Barney and transitioned into management in 2000, serving in various roles of increasing importance. He remained with the firm after the acquisition by Morgan Stanley in 2009, and in 2014 began leading Morgan Stanley’s Boston Harbor complex.

Financial advisor Breandan Kelly joined LPL Financial, aligning with Gladstone Wealth Group, having previously worked at Wells Fargo Advisors. Kelly reported that his firm managed approximately $110 million of client brokerage, advisory and retirement plan assets. Kelly created a new Gladstone branch in Fort Myers, Florida, launched through Gladstone’s Partnership Program. His firm is supported by two staff members, including Catherine Byrd, director of operations, and Kathy Kelly, client services assistant.

US law firm Shearman & Sterling appointed private client specialist Anna Salek to join its New York office. Salek advises high net worth individuals, family offices and foundations, both in the US and abroad. Previously, she worked as a partner in the trusts and estates practice of Kirkland & Ellis in New York, and was previously at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Research and advisory firm Aite Group launched a cyber-security practice. Leading the practice is Aite Group research and consulting chief Gwenn Bézard. He was joined by senior analyst Alissa Knight. A published author, she has worked in cyber-security for over 18 years as a penetration tester and incident responder, and she has started and sold two previous cyber-security start-ups before launching her own venture capital fund.

Raymond James brought in a team of 11 wealth managers to its embrace. The advisors are John Schindler, CRPS®, Jeffrey Davies, CFP®, ChFC®, Scott Bennett, CFP®, Chuck Phillipson, CFP®, Christian Allen and Austin Farah. They join Raymond James & Associates (RJA) – the firm’s traditional employee broker/dealer and are based in Birmingham, Michigan. Joining them were senior registered client associates Farrah Brown, Yvonne Carver and Andrea Roll, client service associate Nathalie Tufenkjian and senior practice marketing associate Elizabeth Mabley.

The team operates as Peninsula Wealth Management of Raymond James and joined from UBS, where the advisors previously managed about $738 million in client assets. Together, the group serves a variety of clients, including high net worth clients, business owners, corporate executives and physicians.

Clarus Group appointed Chuck Rose as a wealth manager and he joined its investment committee. Prior to this, Rose spent 15 years at Jersey City-based asset management firm, Lord Abbett & Co. Rose graduated from William Paterson University with a degree in corporate finance and earned the Certified Investment Management Analyst qualification. He is an active member of the Investments & Wealth Institute, has FINRA securities registrations Series 7, Series 66, Series 24 and has Life Insurance and Health Insurance licenses.

Diversified Trust, the US wealth manager, promoted nine of its staff to new positions across the Southeast region of the country. 

Atlanta Office:
Robinson Mertilus, to vice president;
Memphis Office:
Vince Chamblee, to senior vice president;
Jim Gilliland, to principal;
Hadley Miller, to principal;

Nashville Office:
Adele Anderson, to senior associate;
Adam Dretler, to principal;
Stewart Koch, to vice president;
Sarah Maxwell, to senior associate; and
Karen Morvai, to senior associate.

Argent Financial Group, the wealth management firm, appointed Jodi Penn Rives as a business development officer for Shreveport, Louisiana and Oxford, Mississippi. She reports to chief development officer J Aaron Jack. A native of Shreveport, Rives spent the past 24 years in numerous leadership roles in the public and private sectors in North Louisiana. Most recently, she was business development director for Heard, McElroy & Vestal, the CPA firm. Prior to joining Heard, McElroy & Vestal, she worked alongside her late husband, Mike Penn, at Penn Homes.

Glenn Gunnels joined Argent Trust Company as senior vice president/fiduciary consultant in the company’s Atlanta office. He reports to David Williams, general counsel of Argent Financial Group and executive vice president and manager, fiduciary services for Argent Trust. Gunnels has more than 20 years of experience providing ESOP, corporate and litigation legal services. Before joining Argent, he worked at Taylor English Duma LLP, an Atlanta law firm, where he advised clients in transactions involving ESOPs. Previously, he also was founding principal of The Gunnels Law Firm in Washington, DC, senior counsel at Isler Dare PC in northern Virginia, and partner at Schiff Hardin LLP in Atlanta.

Argent Trust Company appointed Jill Knight Nalty as its business development officer in its New Orleans office. She reports to market president Kevin Reed. Nalty has 13 years of banking experience in New Orleans having served the banking community at Hibernia National Bank and First Commerce Corporation. She has spent her most recent decades in fundraising efforts in the non-profit sector in the New Orleans community. In particular, she has worked with Children's Hospital, Ochsner Pediatrics, Junior Achievement, and the Audubon Institute. 

Katten Muchin Rosenman appointed Matthew Sperry to join its trusts and estates department. Sperry previously led the global private client practice at McGuireWoods and served as a federal law clerk to Judge Carolyn P Chiechi, who retired last year from the US Tax Court in Washington, DC. He is a frequent speaker and author on the taxation of private clients and trusts, global family governance, cross-border wealth structuring and other key private client issues.
 

Athena Capital Advisors, a US-registered investment advisor with $5.5 billion in assets under management, promoted Dana K O’Brien to general counsel. She was previously deputy general counsel. O’Brien, who joined Athena Capital in 2014, continues her role as chief compliance officer. Leonard Lewin, who has served as general counsel and vice chairman of the board for over a decade, remains as vice chairman on Athena’s board of directors. O’Brien remains based in Athena’s Lincoln, Massachusetts, headquarters. Prior to joining Athena, O’Brien served as CCO and director of administration and legal affairs for Fisher Lynch Capital. Previously, she was director of operations and legal affairs at MPM Capital.

International law firm Withers appointed corporate, income tax and estate planning attorneys to join its US practice. Partners Charles Kolstad and S Eva Wolf and associate Kim Jackson joined the firm in Los Angeles from Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp. Kolstad advises on international, corporate and partnership tax issues and tax controversy cases.

Ethic Inc, a tech-driven asset management platform focused on sustainable investment ideas, added Peter Knight, a luminary in the field, to its advisory board. Knight established Generation Investment Management with his partners, former US Vice President Al Gore and David Blood, in 2004, and served as its president until his retirement in 2017. During his tenure with that organization, Knight oversaw the firm’s US business. 

Alex Brown, a division of Raymond James, appointed client advisor Barry Kolano in Boston, Massachusetts. Kolano joined the firm from Wells Fargo Advisors, where he previously managed more than $113 million in client assets. He has been in the financial services industry for more than 30 years.

A team of four advisors who managed $314 million at UBS in Dallas, Texas, joined the employee channel of Ameriprise Financial. The team is headed by George Vilfordi III and includes his sons Aaron, Alex and Adam, a report by InvestmentNews said. The elder Mr Vilfordi joined UBS in 2009 after 29 years at Merrill Lynch. His sons joined him at UBS over the past 10 years, it said.

US investment house Constitution Capital Partners formed a real estate business, created by professionals who used to be employed by Lone Star Funds and its affiliates. The new organization is called Constitution Capital Real Estate Partners. With offices in New York and Chicago, the group is led by Hugh J Ward, most recently senior managing director and co-head of real estate investments at Lone Star North America. The team initially has six individuals. 

Evercore appointed Chris Zander as president of Evercore Wealth Management; he reports to the firm’s chief executive Jeff Maurer. Zander remains as the firm’s chief wealth and fiduciary advisor and the president of Evercore Trust Company. He joined Evercore Wealth Management as a founding partner in 2008, and is a member of the Evercore Wealth Management strategic planning committee and the firm’s investment decision-making body, the asset allocation committee.   

WealthVest, a firm distributing insurance firms’ products to wealth managers, hired Bradley Yoshida. Yoshida will cover the Arkansas/Tennessee area helping advisors with retirement planning using fixed and fixed index annuities. Yoshida has more than eight years of industry experience. Prior to his new role, he was a regional vice president with Jackson National covering the greater Illinois area. He started as an internal wholesaler covering the wirehouse channel in New York City and then moved to the business development consultant role covering South Carolina and Florida in the independent channel. 

First Republic Bank, the New York-listed private bank, hired three wealth management professionals in Jackson, Wyoming. Jim Gersack was named managing director and wealth manager, and Rick Will was named vice president and wealth manager. Patrick Trucco was named MD and wealth advisor and will work with clients to develop comprehensive wealth strategies. Gersack, who has 21 years of wealth management experience, was previously president of First Western Trust in Jackson. Earlier in his career, he worked for Bank of America and First Interstate Wealth Management. He began his career in 1997 at Sanford C Bernstein & Co in San Francisco.

Integrated Financial Partners, a US RIA, appointed Brad Tedrick, Jeremy Gottlieb, Saleah Hewitt, Brian Dawahare and Jay Dortch to join its teams, along with 12 recent additions to the firm. Of the recent dozen recruits, nine came from the independent broker-delaer channel, two from the fee-only RIA community and one from the wirehouse realm.

Heidrick & Struggles, the US-based executive search firm, appointed three senior figures. Jenni Hibbert was named global practice managing partner in the financial services practice. Since 2017, she has been the regional practice managing partner for financial services in Europe and Africa and previously led the UK financial services practice. She succeeds David Boehmer who will remain a partner in the financial services and financial technology practices.

Dan Ryan became regional leader for the Americas and will work with the firm's senior management and office leaders. He oversees major client accounts as the global head of strategic accounts. Previously, Ryan was a partner in the financial services practice and led the New York office. Ryan succeeded Michael Cullen who continues as chief operating officer, with overall responsibility for IT, marketing, practice and regional search operations. 

Stephen Schwanhausser became global practice managing partner of the consumer markets practice. Prior to this, he was the co-MP for the global consumer products sector and earlier led that sector in the Americas. He concentrates on CEO and board director recruitment for Fortune 500 and private companies and equity-backed growth organizations. He took over from Tom Snyder who remains as a partner in the consumer markets and CEO on the board of directors practices.

CIBC Private Wealth Management, part of Toronto-listed CIBC, named Tricia Bannan, CFA, as head of equities. In this newly-created role, Banan oversees $15.1 billion of equity assets across the firm's investment platform. Bannan brings more than 35 years of experience in financial services to her role. Prior to joining CIBC Private Wealth Management, Bannan was with Evergreen Investments, where she managed large-core portfolios for the mutual fund and wealth channels and was head of the Large-Cap Core Growth Team. She began her career in 1982 at Phoenix Investment Counsel, where she served in analytical, portfolio management and leadership roles.

RBC Wealth Management, promoted Reva Shakkottai to lead the Manhattan Beach branch in California. She is senior vice president - financial advisor and senior portfolio manager - Portfolio Focus. She also continues to work with the Specialized Strategies Group, which resides in RBC’s Century City office. Shakkotai has more than 20 years of experience in financial services, spending the past decade at RBC Wealth Management. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst® and a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society Los Angeles, and is also the portfolio manager for her team.

Rockefeller Capital Management appointed Timothy D O’Hara as president of the organization’s multi-family office. O’Hara previously led Ayco, the family office and wealth planning unit of Goldman Sachs. He worked there from January 2013 to February last year. O’Hara first joined the firm in 1996 as a client advisor in the Ayco Family Office, and took on a number of roles of rising seniority. He has a JD from Albany Law School and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Cresset Capital Management appointed Bill Rudnick as general counsel. Rudnick most recently served as a partner with DLA Piper. Rudnick and DLA Piper have been working with Chicago-based Cresset since its inception in 2017. He has experience of counseling entrepreneurs on such matters as growth strategy, corporate and family governance, structuring, strategic planning, succession planning and technology.