RBC Wealth Management made some of the more frequent hire announcements during December last year, while a range of wealth management houses added to teams in that month.

Orion Advisor Services, a portfolio accounting service provider for advisors, hired seven professionals to its team. The Omaha, Neb-headquartered firm appointed Kelly Waltrich as chief marketing officer, Evan Hatch as director of premier services, Sean Hollingshead as vice president of managed accounts, and Heidi Meyer as strategic consultant. 

Orion also hired three VPs of business development charged with expanding Orion’s reach in the Southcentral, Midwest, and Northwest regions.

Massachusetts-based The Bulfinch Companies, a private real estate investment, development and management firm, appointed Alyssa Tsoutsouras as vice president of finance and asset management.

Tsoutsouras oversees lending relationships as well as assist with investor reporting and asset management. Tsoutsouras held various positions at several commercial banks and investment holding companies, including JP Morgan and Citizens Bank. Most recently, she provided portfolio management and underwriting services at Citizens Bank. 

Fieldpoint Private, the private wealth firm serving ultra-high net worth individuals and institutions, appointed a group of advisors into its Greenwich, Connecticut office. The joiners were William E Christian, Tammi A Lauder, Michael J Lent and William T Lent. They are managing directors and senior advisors. Another joiner, an associate, was Steven Cangialosi. The team’s roots date back more than 40 years and encompass two longstanding partnerships. Brothers Michael and William Lent began working together at Prescott, Ball and Turben in the 1970s. They moved to Smith Barney (now Morgan Stanley) in 1993. That year, in a separate move, Lauder also joined Smith Barney, and in 1997 Mr Christian joined the firm. Lauder and Christian began their partnership the following year, and in 2002 they joined forces with the Lent brothers, forming the Landmark Group. In 2010 the team joined JP Morgan Securities in White Plains, New York.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management named Adam Mazzaro as wealth director in San Francisco, reporting to regional president, Thomas Fickinger. Mazzaro focuses on the firm’s business development, concentrating on individuals, intergenerational wealth transfer, business owners and business transition strategies. 

Wymer Brownlee, an independent wealth management firm, appointed Craig Riffel to the newly-created position of general counsel. Riffel, who brings 20 years of experience in practicing law, serves as Wymer Brownlee's top legal strategist on an in-house basis. Previously, Riffel was a partner at Riffel Law, formerly Mitchel, Gaston, Riffel & Riffel, a regional law firm that Riffel co-founded in 2004.

Canadian wealth manager Gluskin Sheff & Associates appointed Alkarim Jiwa as managing director and portfolio manager, and Leanne Caravaggio as vice-president and portfolio manager of its equity operation. Jiwa is responsible for the GS+A Premium Income Portfolio, Gluskin Sheff’s dividend-oriented Canadian equity strategy. He spent 20 years at BMO Financial Group. For the last decade, Jiwa was the lead portfolio manager for the BMO Private Canadian Income Equity Portfolio.  Caravaggio is responsible for the GS+A Canadian Equity Portfolio, joining from 1832 Asset Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Scotiabank.

National Capital Bank of Washington appointed Kathleen Walsh Carr and Harold Rauner to its board of directors. Both Carr and Rauner were most recently with Cardinal Bank.  Prior to retirement, Carr was the president of Cardinal's Washington market and Rauner was regional president in the Fairfax market, following his tenure as president and chief executive of The Business Bank.  

Kestra Financial appointed Michelle Barry as the new president of the recently-acquired H Beck business. Barry has more than 20 years of experience in the industry, most recently as the president and chief executive of Hornor, Townsend & Kent, a full-service broker-dealer and subsidiary of The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company. Before HTK, Barry held a variety of positions across the broker-dealer and RIA landscape.

Raymond James appointed James Baber as financial advisor and senior vice president of investments, and Carla Graham as senior registered client associate to its operation in Richmond, Virginia. Baber joined from Janney Montgomery Scott, where he previously managed approximately $125 million in client assets. He was joined by Graham, and together they operate as Baber Wealth Management of Raymond James. 

Wilmington Trust hired Kevin Johns as a senior private client advisor in its wealth advisory office in Atlanta, Ga. Johns provides wealth management advice to high-net-worth clients including families, entrepreneurs, business owners, and foundations and endowments. Prior to joining Wilmington Trust, he was a senior private banker at Wells Fargo. Earlier in his career, he worked in wealth management at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, as well as Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

Bank of America, which has a wealth management segment, appointed Dr Maria Zuber as a director. The new director was appointed to the enterprise risk and corporate governance committees. Zuber serves as the E A Griswold professor of Geophysics and the vice president for research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she is responsible for research administration and policy.
Massachusetts-headquartered FL Putnam Investment Management Company, the financial planning firm, appointed Christopher Parker to the newly-created role of chief administrative officer. Parker joined Ellen Flaherty, chief operating officer, and Albert Parent chief technology officer, as part of the executive management team at FL Putnam. He reports to the firm's chief executive, Tom Manning. He is responsible for the integration of the firm's new CRM platform.

Connecticut-based Fieldpoint Private, the wealth advisory and private banking firm serving ultra-high net worth families and institutions, appointed Brian Smith as managing director and senior advisor. Smith's practice is based in Fieldpoint Private’s Palm Beach, Florida, office. He was previously with First Republic Bank since 2000, first in New York and later in Palm Beach, advising approximately 35 UHNW families. Prior to First Republic, Smith was a private banker with US Trust and the Bank of New York.

Israel-based Bank Leumi appointed Chris Williams as its new regional manager for US private banking in Chicago, Illinois. Williams leads a team of Chicago-based relationship managers. Williams joined Bank Leumi from JP Morgan, where he led the high net worth wealth management business in Northern Chicago.

BNP Paribas Asset Management appointed Tamara Jackson as director of US institutional business development for the western region of the states. She reports to Neil Johnson, head of US institutional business development, and is based in Los Angeles.

Farkouh, Furman & Faccio, a boutique accounting and advisory firm, joined forces with CPI Associates, a tax advisory firm in Manhattan. The founder of CPI Associates, Lee Robins, and the rest of CPI's staff joined FF&F.

California-based asset and wealth manager Bailard appointed Louise Model as vice president and business development officer. She focuses on Bailard’s high net worth relationships in the San Francisco Bay Area. Model has 25 years' experience in the financial services industry, including 10 years with real estate securities manager Kensington Investment Group as vice president of capital markets and as a financial consultant.

California-based Yuva Wealth Planning joined tru Independence's wealth manager advisory platform. The new practice is led by Ahmet Sumer, who was most recently a vice president and financial advisor with Merrill Lynch in San Diego, where he continues to work. Sumer has 20 years of experience in banking and private wealth management, both in the US and abroad for firms including JP Morgan, HSBC and Wells Fargo.

RBC Wealth Management appointed Joseph Friend as a senior vice president and financial advisor, Ross Gordon as an associate vice president and financial advisor, and Melodie Moore as a senior client associate to its Raleigh, North Carolina office. Friend has 32 years of industry experience, previously at Wells Fargo.  Gordon has 43 years of experience and also joined from Wells Fargo.  

Falcon Wealth Planning appointed Min Song as a financial planner in its operations across Southern California. Song joined from TD Ameritrade, where he spent the past decade helping high net worth clients achieve their financial goals in its private client group.

New York-based Spartan Capital Securities, a financial services firm that provides investment advice for high net worth individuals, appointed Andrew Heath as chief compliance officer. Heath has more than 35 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has served as CCO and general counsel at several firms in the financial services industry such as UBS, National Securities Corporation and Buckman Buckman & Reid.

Financial advisory and asset management firm Lazard appointed Alexandra Deignan as head of investor relations. Deignan oversee the firm’s investor relations activities with Evan Russo, chief financial officer. He is based in New York. Deignan has more than 20 years of experience in investor relations and investment banking. He previously served as vice president of investor relations for Schnitzer Steel Industries.

RBC Wealth Management hired the Santia Foster Wealth Management Group to its Pittsburgh office. The team is comprised of Mark Santia, senior vice president and financial advisor, who joins with 32 years of industry experience, and Edmund Foster, senior vice president and financial advisor, who has 22 years of experience, along with Kira Napolitano, senior registered client associate and James Alfonso, registered client associate. 

RBC Wealth Management also appointed Bruce Gelfand to its Midtown, New York office, and Stephen Pendergast to its Stamford office. Gelfand joined from Wells Fargo Advisors as first vice president and financial advisor. He has 22 years of industry experience and manages approximately $190 million in assets under administration. Pendergast also joined from Wells Fargo as a financial advisor Stamford office. He has $142 million in assets.

Baird, an international, employee-owned wealth management firm, hired the Planning Group of the Northwest to its Anchorage, Alaska office. Financial advisors Margaret Price, Sarah Springer, and Grant Shearer all have titles of managing directors. Price has 35 years of industry experience to Baird. Springer has over 15 years of industry experience to Baird. Shearer has nearly 20 years of industry experience.
New York-headquartered Union Bank named Stephen Sherline as a managing director and head of private wealth management for Southern California.  Based in Beverly Hills, he reports to Michael Feldman, head of wealth markets. He has more than 25 years of financial services experience. He has held senior positions at several institutions including US Bank, Fifth Third Bank and Smith Barney.

Oregon-based financial advisory firm True Private Wealth Advisors hired Nanson, Bratt & Colvin Capital Advisors to the firm's operation.  Based in Portland, Oregon, financial advisors Jason Bratt and David Nanson and client service associate, Ashley Colvin, joined True from UBS to launch Nanson, Bratt & Colvin Capital Advisors. Bratt is a founder and senior wealth advisor of Nanson, Bratt & Colvin Capital Advisors.  Nanson is also a founder and senior wealth advisor of Nanson, Bratt & Colvin Capital Advisors. Colvin is a senior client service manager at True Private Wealth Advisors. 

Law firm Greenspoon Marder expanded its international wealth and asset planning practice in Denver, adding shareholder Edward Brown. Brown has more than 25 years of experience in areas of comprehensive estate planning, asset protection and taxation.

Atlanta-based Atlantic Capital Bank, which has a private banking operation, appointed Chris Stanley as vice president of fintech industry banking to lead Atlantic Capital’s fintech banking practice. This was a newly-created role. Stanley has more than 17 years of experience in corporate banking and supporting technology companies. Most recently, Stanley served as VP of finance for FINSYNC, an Atlanta-based fintech company.

Virginia-based Edelman Financial Services, an independent financial planning and investment management firm, appointed Rene Chaze to a newly-created role of chief development officer and Jon Isaacson as its new chief financial officer. Chaze oversees the firm's expansion strategy via acquisitions. Isaacson, who replaced Chaze as CFO, took charge of its accounting and finance operations. Before joining Edelman in 2011, Chaze was a partner at Ernst & Young. Most recently, Isaacson served as the managing director of buyouts for American Capital, a publicly-traded private equity and global asset-management firm.

New York-based Epsilon Asset Management appointed Charles Soderstrom as chief operating officer and partner of the firm. Previously, Soderstrom served as a managing director and head of operations for Impala Asset Management, a long/short equity hedge fund. Prior to Impala, he was a senior managing director at Bear Stearns.  In 2000, he co-founded and managed Buena Vista Partners, a long/short equity hedge fund.

Inukshuk Capital Management, a portfolio management company that offers wealth management services to institutional and high net worth investors, appointed Patrick Keeley as president. Keeley has 25 years' experience in the investment industry, and he most recently served as a managing director of client wealth management at Gluskin Sheff and Associates. Prior to joining Gluskin Sheff, he held various positions within the RBC Financial Group, including co-president of RBC Phillips Hager & North Investment Counsel.

US Trust, the wealth management arm of Bank of America, announced seven new hires. It appointed Andre Luu as a private client advisor of its Palo Alto, California office. He previously worked at City National Bank as a private bank team leader. There was one new appointment to its Denver, Colorado office. John Magee joined the operation as a private client advisor. He previously worked at JP Morgan Private Bank as a private banker.

Ted Olsen joined the Minneapolis, Minnesota office as a senior trust officer. He previously worked at Abbot Downing as a senior trust administrator. Donald Wratchford has joined the Kansas City, Missouri office as a private client advisor. He previously worked at Merrill Lynch as an analyst – business development. Also, the firm hired Joseph Carter to its New York office as a private client advisor. He previously worked at The PrivateBank as a managing director. David Rihtarchik joined the Raleigh, North Carolina office as a senior trust officer. He previously worked at Fifth Third Bank as a senior trust officer. Lastly, the bank hired Christopher Tate as a wealth strategies advisor at its McLean, Virginia office. He previously worked at Wells Fargo Bank as a senior trust officer.