March was a busy month for moves, both in terms of appointments, and some departures. The onset of the global COVID-19 crisis did not appreciably slow down the flow.

The Retirement Advantage, the US retirement services company, appointed Darin Erdmann as national sales manager - a new role for the firm. He leads the company's national sales team and reports to Jeff Schreiber, TRA’s director of sales. 

Raymond James brought over advisors Mark Killingsworth and Stephen Vessey to its independent broker/dealer, in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. The advisor duo joined from Wells Fargo Advisors, where they previously managed $200 million in client assets. They, along with registered client service associate Carrie Decker, operate as Killingsworth & Vessey Financial Partners.

The firm brought in financial advisors Chris Messick; David Peacock; Alex Taylor, and Matt Sibley to its independent broker/dealer business in Dallas, Texas. The team operates as Messick Peacock & Associates and joins from Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, where they previously managed about $640 million in client assets. They were joined by chief operating officer Lynda Roman, marketing manager Whitney Goellner, senior client services manager Caleb Lamb, client services manager Marlon Medrano, and executive assistant Marsha Hale.

Previously, Messick spent 27 years at Northwestern Mutual Investment Services. In July 2019, he earned his Certified Private Wealth Advisor® designation from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Peacock has over 25 years of financial services experience. Prior to joining Raymond James, he spent 22 years at Northwestern Mutual Investment Services.

AmeriTrust, part of the Argent Financial Group family of companies in the US, promoted Kenny Brown Jr to vice president, business development. Jason Simpson also joined the firm as portfolio manager. Both men are based in the Tulsa office and report to AmeriTrust president Harvie Roe. 

Peregrine "Peg" Broadbent, chief financial officer of US-listed Jeffries Financial Group, which provides services including wealth management, died from coronavirus complications. He was 56. Broadbent joined Jefferies in 2007 after 16 years at Morgan Stanley.

“We are heartbroken and grieve that our friend and colleague, Peg Broadbent, has passed away from coronavirus complications. Our thoughts, prayers and love go out to Peg’s dear wife, Hayley, and their young children, Sebastian and Grace, as well as Peg’s older children, Anna, Sophie and Charlie, and all of Peg’s extended family here and in the United Kingdom,” Rich Handler, CEO, and Brian Friedman, President, said. 

Teri Gendron, CFO of Jefferies Financial Group, was appointed as the interim CFO and chief accounting officer of Jefferies Group LLC.

Howard Capital Management, a US-registered investment advisor, said its president, Bill Martin, had retired after leading the firm for five years. HCM's controller, Chris Ferguson, was appointed his successor. Ferguson served as controller for HCM for the past two years and has worked as a professional accountant for the last seven years. He graduated from the University of West Georgia with a BBA in accounting. Zachary Stout, a 13-year industry veteran, also joined HCM as managing director of sales and distribution.

Crowe, an international public accounting, consulting and technology firm, appointed Mark Baer as its next chief executive, taking over once Jim Powers, current CEO, finishes his second term. For the past five years, Baer served as the managing partner of the firm's audit and assurance services, leading a team of more than 1,200 audit professionals.

Hercules Investments, a Los Angeles-based RIA, appointed Joe Pastore and Anthony Lucchesi, both as vice presidents of wealth management. Prior to joining Hercules Investments, Pastore served as VP and financial advisor for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and senior portfolio manager for Merrill Lynch from October 2002 to February 2013. 

Prior to joining Hercules Investments, Lucchesi served as a financial consultant and investment representative at Fidelity Investments, and a senior investment counselor for T Rowe Price, between April 2008 and September 2012. Lucchesi has more than 11 years of experience in the investment industry and holds Series 7 and Series 66, and CA Life and Health licenses.

Tassat, a US business which provides financial technologies and products for digital payments and digital exchange, appointed a veteran of the alternative investment space, Krishna Prasad, as its new chief executive. The previous CEO was Thomas Kim.

Most recently, Prasad founded Kavery Advisors, a consulting firm primarily focused on private equity and venture investments for fintech in India. Previous roles include head of alternative investment products at TIAA, head of alternative investments at BBVA, co-head of institutional services at Morgan Stanley, and head of operations for Deutsche Asset Management. 

EisnerAmper, the professional services firm that has pushed into areas including advising wealthy families and business owners, named Miri Forster as a principal and co-leader of the tax controversy practice. She is based at EisnerAmper’s Iselin, New Jersey office.

With more than 20 years of IRS practice, procedure and tax controversy experience, Forster specializes in providing tax dispute resolution services to public and private corporations, partnerships and high net worth individuals. 

New York-based Cornerstone Capital Group added two senior figures, Glen Macdonald and Shahnawaz Malik, as managing directors and senior investment advisors. They report to Craig Metrick, Cornerstone’s chief investment officer.

Prior to the new role, Macdonald was a managing director at Bronfman, Rothschild and a senior vice president - institutional client advisor at US Trust. Earlier in his career, he was a principal at a private equity firm, and a partner at PwC’s management consulting unit. Metrick leads the Wealth & Giving Forum, an organization he co-founded in 2014 that promotes values-aligned capital allocation among families who seek positive social and environmental outcomes.

Malik was previously a senior banker at Standard Chartered, where he provided advisory solutions to high net worth and family office clients, foundations, and endowments. Prior to Standard Chartered, Metrick worked for Barclays Wealth & Investment Management in London and Hong Kong, having multiple roles across investment advisory, portfolio management and business development. 
 

Wealth management and investment firm Cresset announced yesterday that Bill Rudnick will lead its Family Office Services group. Rudnick, who serves as senior partner and general counsel for Cresset, has more than 30 years of experience leading client-facing teams. 

Cresset added three financial advisors to serve the Atlanta region. The joiners, who came from Wilmington Trust, are Jack Sawyer, JD, Michael Mohr and Todd Tautfest. The team is based in Atlanta and serves local clientele in addition to clients across the country. 

Sawyer, named as a managing director, most recently served as Southeast region president for Wilmington Trust and was responsible for leading wealth advisory services in Georgia, including planning, trusts, investment management, family office and private banking services. He has extensive experience in charitable planning, trusts, estates, and private foundations, and is also a fiduciary attorney. He serves on the boards of directors for several organizations, including Andee’s Army, Nsoro Foundation, High Museum of Art, and the Georgia Museum of Art. 

Mohr was also made an MD. He previously held the same title in the Southeast region for Wilmington Trust, where he was responsible for leading investment advisory services for high net worth clients and managed the firm’s advisors in Georgia. He has more than 25 years of experience in portfolio management and is a CFA charter holder and member of the CFA Institute. He is also a member of the Finance Council of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta, where he chairs the investment committee.

Tautfest, who is the third MD to be appointed by Cresset, was also an MD in Wilmington’s Southeast region. He worked with high net worth clients, business owners, foundations, and endowments. Tautfest has nearly 30 years of experience in wealth management. In addition to being a member of the Atlanta Estate Planning Council, he is a board member of The NAMES Project Foundation, which is the custodian of The AIDS Memorial Quilt, and Open Hand. He is a past board member of the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia.

Abbot Downing named a new head, Jack Ginter. Ginter, who has more than 25 years’ experience in the industry, succeeds Jim Steiner, who took on a new role at Wells Fargo Asset Management, focused on expanding outsourced chief investment officer offerings. Most recently, Ginter was a senior managing director for Abbot Downing, overseeing regional management, business development, the legacy and wealth planning practice, and the Institute for Family Culture. He joined Calibre, a predecessor firm of Abbot Downing, in 2008 after serving as a city executive for US Trust.

Avantax Wealth Management brought in the Making Investing Personal financial planning team, a long-standing $90 million advisory firm in Livonia, Michigan. The team includes financial advisors Terence Reed, Elizabeth Marshall, Melissa Rubingh, Ryan Cohen, and tax manager Michael Park. 

Pritzker Private Capital appointed Thomas J Leverton, an experienced business figure, to join its services team as operating partner. Leverton replaced Gregg Kaplan as operating partner on PPC’s Services team. Kaplan recently became CEO of Valicor Environmental Services, a PPC company. Leverton co-leads PPC’s Services team in partnership with Ryan Roberts, investment partner – services. 

Most recently Leverton served as chief executive of CEC Entertainment, the parent company of Chuck E Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza. Leverton previously served as CEO of Topgolf, a global sports and entertainment company, and CEO at Omniflight, a nationwide air medical operator. Earlier in his career, he carried out senior operating roles at FedEx Office and TXU Energy. He began his career at Johnson & Johnson and Bain & Company. 

Wells Fargo said its chair, Elizabeth A Duke, resigned after taking on the role in January 2018. Duke was vice chair from October 2016 through December 2017 and had a number of committee roles at the US lender. James Quigley also resigned from the board. 

Tiedemann Advisors named foreign policy luminary and international investment expert Robert Hormats as a managing director. Hormats joined Tiedemann five years ago. During his career, Hormats built an investment expertise and knowledge of trade policy, intellectual property protection, protection of trade secrets, international environmental issues and global energy. 

With more than 50 years of experience as an international policy and business leader, Hormats served in five US presidential administrations, including as Deputy US Trade Representative with the rank of Ambassador, and Senior Economic advisor to Dr Henry Kissinger, General Brent Scowcroft and Dr Zbigniew Brzezinski on the National Security Council staff in the White House.  

His most recent government position was with Secretary Clinton as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment from 2009 through 2013. In between his time in government, Hormats spent 25 years at Goldman Sachs, rising to the level of vice chairman, Goldman Sachs (International), where he acted as the firm’s lead spokesman on the economic and financial outlook for the global economy. 

Bernstein Private Wealth Management, part of US-based AllianceBernstein, named Bowman Hallagan as head of its office in Dallas, Texas. Hallagan, a managing director, is responsible for overseeing client service and the strategic growth of Bernstein’s business in the region. Hallagan joined Bernstein in 2011 and formerly served as VP and financial advisor for the firm’s Boston office. Prior to Bernstein, Hallagan was an account executive at the Wall Street Journal. He holds a BA in political science and economics from Bucknell University.

HarbourVest Partners, a global private markets asset manager, unveiled its 2020 promotions, including three new managing directors: Monique Austin, Simon Lund, and Nhora Otalora, as well as five new principals and one senior vice president.
 
Evercore Wealth Management promoted two of its team to the status of partner: Jonathan Bergner and Nancy Gabel. Bergner is a portfolio manager and Gabel is a financial advisor at the firm. 

Prior to joining Evercore in 2012 as a managing director, Bergner led a team of portfolio managers at US Trust managing the assets of high net worth individuals and family foundations. Earlier, he directed investments at Ader Associates, a New York-based financial planning firm. Gabel is a financial advisor at Evercore Wealth Management and Evercore Trust Company. She works with high net worth families and their attorneys and tax advisors.