The advisors operate as Williams & Townsend Wealth Management Partners of Raymond James and joined from Merrill Lynch, where they previously managed around $842 million in assets for a variety of clients, including high net worth clients, physicians and retirees. Joining them at Raymond James were practice business manager Kim Smith and senior client service associates Barbara Hillman and Anne Beck.

Raymond James welcomed financial advisors Bobby Conville, Jr and Earl Smith to its employee advisor channel in Ruston, Louisiana. Together with Ruth Best, senior registered client service associate, the advisors marked RJA’s first office location in Ruston, Louisiana. Conville and Smith joined from Wells Fargo Advisors, where they previously managed about $315 million in client assets. They operate as Conville, Smith and Associates Wealth Management of Raymond James.

Sanctuary Wealth brought in the Fort Worth, Texas-based firm mFORCE Capital to its network. Led by founder, chief executive and wealth management advisor Bradley Bruce, the four-person team came from Merrill Lynch Wealth Management where it was known as the Bruce Wealth Management Group. The group oversaw $1.22 billion in client assets. Prior to founding mFORCE Capital, Bruce spent his entire 33-year career with Merrill Lynch, rising to the position of managing director, senior resident director, wealth management advisor. 

Other team members are Joanna Horton, who serves as chief operating officer, wealth management advisor. Prior to joining Merrill in 2016, she spent 25 years with Capital Institutional Services in Dallas, serving as director of global trading, running the largest institutional global trading desk in the Southwest for 15 years. Also on the team are April Bierle, who began as an intern with Merrill in 1995 and will be director of office relations and senior client relationship manager; and Cheryl McCarson, who joined the team 10 years ago and will now be senior client relationship manager.

Moneta, a US-registered investment advisor based in Missouri, appointed Aoifinn Devitt as its new chief investment officer - based in Chicago. With more than two decades of financial industry experience, Devitt’s responsibilities include aligning Moneta’s investment programs with broader firm goals, as well as overseeing the research, evaluation and selection of asset classes and investment vehicles.

Originally from Ireland, Devitt spent her early career working in London as an investment banking associate at Goldman Sachs International and as a specialist consultant at Cambridge Associates Limited. Devitt also founded Clontarf Capital, a pan-alternatives research and consulting firm. More recently, she served as CIO for the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago and head of investment for Ireland at Hermes Fund Managers Ireland Limited.

Carson Group appointed Mary Kate Gulick as chief marketing officer. She is a veteran finserv marketing expert and formerly worked at TD Ameritrade’s RIA custody business. Gulick’s 20 years of marketing leadership primarily focused on financial services clients, including Allstate, First National Bank of Omaha, Lincoln Benefit Life, Securities America, and TD Ameritrade. She served as the director, digital and content marketing and senior manager of brand and creative with TD Ameritrade Institutional.

Fenergo, which provides know-your-client and client lifecycle management software for financial institutions, named Stella Clarke as chief strategy and marketing officer and Alan Molloy as chief product officer. Clarke worked in banking technology, operations and enterprise financial software roles in capital markets, wholesale banking and fintech firms across Asia and Europe. She most recently worked at Murex where she spearheaded a strategic global marketing practice. Clarke previously worked in numerous roles at DBS Bank in Singapore.

With more than 30 years' experience leading product and technology teams for a diverse range of organizations at various stages of growth, Molloy worked at firms including Paddy Power, FINEOS, Allied Irish Banks and McKinsey.
 

CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, appointed family offices figure Carole Crawford as managing director for the Americas region, based in New York. Crawford joined CFA Institute from fincap360, a boutique global family-office consulting and CFO practice where she was founder and managing partner. Crawford established her career at Morgan Stanley and Raymond James before founding fincap360.

Seattle-based Laird Norton Wealth Management named financial industry veteran Ron Albahary as its new chief investment officer. Albahary serves on LNWM’s executive leadership team, leading all aspects of the firm’s investment strategy and research function, and managing its platform. He took over from Gino Perrina, who had served as LNWM’s CIO since 2015. A 30-year veteran of the wealth and investment management industry, Albahary held leadership positions with institutions such as Merrill Lynch and Northern Trust Private Bank. 

LongRange Capital, a private equity firm, announced new team members: Sunny Patel joined LongRange as senior principal, Taylor Elliott as senior associate, and Austin Marcus as associate.

Patel was previously with 3G Capital, on both the private and public sides of their business. Prior to 3G Capital, Patel was a principal at KKR, focused on their consumer, media and communications private equity investments. Elliott was previously a private equity associate with L Catterton, a global, consumer-focused private investment firm. Prior to L Catterton, he was an analyst at Barclays Investment Bank in its global financial sponsors group. Marcus joined LongRange from Cerberus Capital Management, a global, operational-focused investment firm, where he was a private equity associate. Prior to Cerberus, he was an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs in its global technology, media and telecom group.

Jeremy Levine joined as a director and relationship manager for the New York team at Deutsche Bank. Levine joined from Bank of America where he advised the firm’s wealthy clients on equity, risk management and bespoke lending strategies. Levine has more than 20 years of experience including with C-suite executives, equity derivatives/structured products, goals-based investing, strategic allocation strategies, block trading, 10b5-1 plans and concentrated stock lending. Before this, Levine worked for Deutsche Bank within the strategic equity transactions group from 2000 to 2014. He is based in New York, where he reports to Anthony Valvo.

Withers expanded its trust and estate planning practice in California with the addition of a new partner, Naomita Yadav. Yadov joined the firm’s San Francisco office from Ernst and Young, where she was a senior manager. Previously, she worked in tax advisory roles at Anderson Yazdi Hwang Minton & Horn, Goodwin Proctor and Baker & McKenzie.

Vistra, which serves fund, corporate, capital market and private wealth clients, appointed Antonio Soler as new managing director and head of US corporate services. Soler joined from CT Corporation, a business unit of Wolters Kluwer, where he led the international corporate services business. Prior to that, he served in several senior leadership roles at TMF Group, leading sales, business development and marketing. He has a degree from Harvard University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Thrivent Advisor Network appointed Carolyn Armitage as head. She was most recently managing director of ECHELON Partners. Prior to ECHELON, Armitage led the large enterprise business management consulting team for LPL Financial for three years. Earlier in her career, Armitage was MD at Western International Securities and previously spent more than 12 years as head of advisory service wealth management at ING Advisors Network . Armitage also worked with HD Vest Financial Services.

Tiedemann Advisors stepped up its impact investing effort by naming prominent industry figure Jed Emerson as managing director, holding the post of global lead of impact investing. Emerson, who served on Tiedemann’s Impact Advisory Council for the last three years, joined formally to oversee strategy and implementation of Tiedemann’s impact investing practice. For decades Emerson led and advised funds, firms, social ventures and foundations pursuing financial performance with social and environmental impact. He is an internationally recognized thought leader in the space, and has co-authored seven books in the field, including the first book ever published specifically on impact investing.

Former Cresset Asset Management chief executive Michael Cole was appointed as managing partner for R360, an “invitation-only league of strategic wealth creators” for people with at least $100 million in net wealth. A familiar figure in the wealth sector , Cole was CEO at Cresset AM from July 2018 until June last year; prior to this, he was president, Ascent Private Capital Management for almost eight years and before that, national director, family wealth group, at Wells Fargo.

Procyon Partners, based in Shelton, Connecticut, appointed a senior financial advisor, Daniel Limmer and opened a new office in West Palm Beach, Florida. Prior to this role, Limmer spent 20 years as the principal and chief executive/managing director of Planning Solutions, an independent financial advisory firm based in Long Island, New York, and managed $70 million in client assets.

Sanctuary Wealth appointed former senior Merrill Lynch figure Phillip Porpora, Jr as managing director. Porpora, who was previously a market executive with Merrill Lynch, where he joined as a member of the senior leadership team following garden leave. 

Bain & Company appointed Debra McCoy, an expert in sustainable investing. McCoy re-joined the firm where she started her career, as a partner in its global sustainability and corporate responsibility practice. She is based in Bain's San Francisco office.

Anduin, the private market transaction innovator, appointed Jeffrey Gelfand as an industry advisor. Gelfand has more than two decades of investment management industry knowledge and experience. Gelfand served as the start-up chief financial officer for Evercore, Silver Point Capital and most recently, Centerbridge.

Concurrent, a partnership of independent advisors affiliated with Raymond James Financial Services, added 10 advisor partner teams entrusted with more than $1 billion in client assets. New advisors under the Concurrent umbrella: 
-- Zach Yaklin, with $213 million of assets under management; formerly with Wells Fargo Bank and based in San Diego and Traverse, Michigan; 
-- Michael Grover, managing partner, Grover Financial Group ; an existing Raymond James Financial Services advisor and based in Modesto, California. The six-person team also includes financial advisors Robert Powell, Justin Grover, Eric Taylor, with support from Jan Constable and Linda Carranza; 
-- Thad Ortez, an existing Raymond James advisor in the Modesto, California area ; 
-- Randy Sauer, Sauer Wealth Management ; formerly with Wells Fargo Advisors and based in Pittsburg, Kansas, supported by Kallee Tucker; 
-- Vikki Ciotti ; formerly with Wells Fargo Advisors, based in Sarasota, Florida, and supported by Rona Powers; 
-- Clint Tighe and Rob Broome ; both formerly with Wells Fargo Advisors, joined Winter Park Wealth Group based in Winter Park, Florida; 
-- Jason Fernandez and formerly with Wells Fargo Advisors joined Wealth Partners Alliance in Dallas, Texas; 
-- Warren Bowman in St Petersburg, Florida joined from Wells Fargo Advisors ; 
-- Michael Cox and Nic Manns, who joined from Wells Fargo Advisors , operate as the Cox Private Wealth Management Group in New Port Ritchey, Florida; and 
-- George Hoos, formerly with Morgan Stanley is a solo advisor in Sarasota, Florida .

Mesirow Financial Holdings appointed Natalie A Brown as president after its board of directors voted unanimously for her. She works with Richard S Price, Mesirow’s chairman and chief executive. Brown joined Chicago-based Mesirow in 2018, most recently serving as the firm’s chief financial officer and chief administrative officer.

Private client law firm BakerHostetler appointed Kristin L Yokomoto as a partner in its Costa Mesa office. Yokomoto serves in the firm’s private wealth practice group. Yokomoto works with high net worth individuals and business owners, corporate trustees and private individual fiduciaries, as well as trust and estate beneficiaries. Prior to focusing on wealth transition, Yokomoto practiced in the area of securities laws, venture capital, and mergers and acquisitions; prior to law school, she was a financial analyst for Fortune 500 companies.

Advisor Group recruited Compass Wealth Solutions, an Indiana-based wealth management practice with $221 million in total client assets, to join its network. The team at Compass joined Advisor Group through its network member firm Woodbury Financial Services. Led by CEO Annette Alexander, a 21-year veteran of the industry, Compass Wealth Solutions also includes wealth advisor Tamra Kaufman, registered portfolio design director Brandon Mock, executive service director Paula Sibery, and client service associate Dylan Franks.