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Summary Of North American Executive Moves – November 2023
Editorial Staff
25 February 2024
Raymond James welcomed financial advisor Ross P Grant, in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts. Formerly with Wells Fargo, Grant managed around $160 million in client assets and was joined by senior client service associate Renee Cooper. The group operates as Ross P Grant of Raymond James. Grant has over 45 years of experience as senior vice president, investments. He recently served as an advisor at Wells Fargo Advisors, with a 17-year tenure at the company. Next Capital Management recruited two former figures from Rockefeller Global Family Office – part of Rockefeller Capital Management – Christopher Fineburg and Teresa Armel. Fineburg and Armel joined as senior wealth advisor and wealth advisor, respectively. EP Wealth Advisors, a registered investment advisor, appointed Kyle Miller, as MD, mergers and acquisitions. Spending the first five years of his career in wealth management and private banking roles covering investment, planning, estate, trust and banking, Miller was involved in the M&A insurance sector area for eight years. During his time at Acrisure, he was the deal lead on more than 165 acquisitions. Miller is based in Chicago. Morgan Stanley named Jed Finn as the head of its $4.8 trillion wealth-management business. Finn worked closely with co-president Andy Saperstein since Finn joined the Wall Street firm in 2011.
Financial advisors John McFadden and Matthew McFadden joined the branch channel of Ameriprise Financial. They came from Wells Fargo Clearing Services, with $235 million in assets in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.
Raymond James welcomed financial advisor Cole Wilson to Raymond James Financial Services – the firm’s independent advisor channel. Wilson and client specialist Stephanie Neel joined the advisors and professionals at Decker Capital Partners, establishing its Abilene, Texas branch.
Geneva-headquartered Bordier & Cie appointed a new head of its Uruguay business, Gerardo Palacios. Palacios has more than 30 years’ experience in the Latin American wealth management industry. He spent almost 20 years working for ABN AMRO in Uruguay, Brazil and Switzerland, where he became head of Latin America in Switzerland. Palacios moved to UBS and eventually became CEO of UBS Uruguay. His last position at UBS was as regional local head for Central Andean and South Latam, based in Switzerland. Most recently Palacios founded and managed his own family office in Montevideo.
Nepsis, a US financial advisor and investment management firm, promoted Matt Pearson to president. Pearson initially joined as a research analyst more than a decade ago.
Advisor Credit Exchange appointed former senior UBS figures JP Connellan as chief executive and Melanie Warner as chief operating officer and head of business development. Former CEO and co-founder Peter Stanton, who decided to step down from his role, remains as a strategic advisor.
At UBS, Connellan and Warner set up the Swiss bank's Independent Advisors Solutions Team. Together they helped launch a strategic initiative between UBS and ACE, whereby the advisors on ACE's platform can access UBS's cash management solutions to help manage their clients' assets and liabilities.
Other leadership appointments include Brett Barnes as head of business development for the Western Division and Justin Taylor as head of business development for the Eastern Division. Additionally, Jack McDonough joined the ACE team as a business analyst supporting business development efforts. Messrs Barnes, Taylor, and McDonough came to ACE from UBS's Independent Advisors Solutions Team.
Raymond James Financial Services Independent Contractor Division president Jodi Perry elected to leave her post for the newly-created role of national head of advisor recruiting. Senior vice president and Northeast division director Shannon Reid succeeded Jodi as ICD president.
The firm also welcomed financial advisor Brian Chappell to its independent advisor channel, in Jacksonville, Florida. Chappell is president of Speedwell Capital Group and was joined by branch professional Ian Atkinson in the transition from UBS Financial Services.
Edward Jones appointed financial advisor Kamar Plunkett. With more than 14 years’ industry experience providing wealth management and retirement planning strategies, Plunkett continues to serve as a trusted resource for clients in New York City. Previously, he worked at Fidelity for over four years where he specialized in asset management.
Bear Creek Asset Management, which serves high net worth individuals and other clients, appointed Jonathan Stern as managing director. Stern was previously an MD at Fundamental Advisors located in New York.
BNY Mellon Wealth Management appointed Christopher Brown as market president in Northern California. Brown, who is based in the company’s San Francisco and Menlo Park offices, reports to Jim Barnyak, president, West Region. Brown spent six years at JP Morgan Private Bank where he was market team lead.
Emigrant Partners added to its advisory team and investment group. Jason Ehrlich joined as managing director and head of investments, while Mark Bruno joined as managing director and head of strategic advisory, and Sam Grewal as vice president of investments.
Financial advisors Jason Kokaly and Brian Reiber joined the independent channel of Ameriprise Financial, from Edward Jones in Flint, Michigan. They brought more than $130 million in client assets.
Savvy Advisors a US RIA appointed Marisa Joelson as a founding principal wealth manager and global investment strategist. Joelson has worked as an advisor at Perigon Wealth Management and Merrill Lynch. In 2017, Joelson founded Meta Point Advisors as her platform to share thought leadership content related to current events and their impacts on the global market.
Raymond James welcomed financial advisors Kevin Okim and Deborah Okim, to its independent advisor channel. The husband-and-wife duo arrived from Edward Jones, where they managed nearly $260 million in client assets.
Fiduciary Trust of New England, a New Hampshire chartered trust company, appointed Jill Mastroianni as trust counsel and vice president. She is based in the firm’s Manchester, New Hampshire office reporting to Fiduciary Trust Company’s chief fiduciary officer, Suma V Nair, JD. Prior to this role, Mastroianni worked at Holland & Knight in Nashville, Tennessee.
Anchor Capital Advisors, a $7.8 billion RIA based in Boston, Massachusetts, appointed Stephanie K Moroney as director of research. Moroney began her career at Boston Private Financial Holdings, entering their rotational development program, which included a stint at Anchor Capital. She joined Anchor in 2015.
Jacques Chappuis and Ben Huneke became co-heads of investment management, also reporting to Saperstein. Chappuis is global head of distribution and co-head of the solutions and multi-asset group. Huneke is head of the investment-solutions group.
iPipeline, which provides digital solutions for the life insurance and financial services industry, appointed a new chief executive, Pat O’Donnell, taking over from interim CEO Deane S Price. Price had been in the role since February 2023. O’Donnell reports to Satish Maripuri, group executive, at Roper Technologies .
Argent Trust Company, a subsidiary of Argent Financial Group, appointed Michelle Canerot as a trust officer for the funeral and cemetery trust division.
The wealth management division of KeyCorp, Key Wealth, appointed Catherine O’Malley Kearney as national head of Key Private Bank and Jeff Douglas as head of Key Bank Institutional Advisors.
Previously, O’Malley Kearney was head of KeyBank’s institutional advisors’ business and served as chief fiduciary officer. O’Malley Kearney brought nearly 25 years of wealth experience since she began her career at Key Private Bank as a trust officer.
Charlie Munger, the right-hand man to investment tycoon Warren Buffett, died at the age of 99. The word “legendary” doesn’t quite do justice to Munger, whose influence on people's thinking about investment and portfolio management was immense. Munger was very much associated with the notion of “value investing.”