Print this article
North America Executive Moves - December 2012
Harriet Davies
4 January 2013
Minneapolis, MN-based US Bank appointed Michelle Walker and Robert Stadler as managing director of investment consulting and managing director of private banking, respectively, for Ascent Private Capital Management in Seattle. Walker will provide investment plans for UHNW clients. She spent the past 10 years as an investment specialist and money manager for a high net worth Seattle-based family office. Stadler will provide UHNW clients with banking solutions. Prior to joining Ascent, Stadler served as a vice president and regional credit executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. US Bank Wealth Management named Terry Sandven chief equity strategist, a newly-created position in which he reports to chief investment officer Tim Leach. Sandven will build and lead the equity team that manages individual stocks not managed by third-party managers, for all client accounts of Ascent Private Capital Management. Additionally, Sandven will lead the equity workgroup, which supervises equity investment policy and strategic process. The wealth and investment arm of Barclays, the UK-listed bank, appointed Stephen Liss and Alpa Patel as directors in the New York and San Francisco offices. In these newly created roles, Patel and Liss will advise high net worth clients and related entities on domestic and international wealth structuring, multi-generational estate planning, wealth preservation strategies, and planned charitable giving. Liss joined a New York-based team which includes Anthony Ruscigno, director, and Kristen Rode, assistant vice president. Patel will be based in the San Francisco office and will serve clients in the West Coast and Texas regions. Both will report to Chris Johnson, director. BMO Private Bank hired Terry Jack as vice president, senior portfolio manager, focused on the Green Bay, WI, area. Jack’s hire was part of an effort by the private bank to ramp up its Midwestern presence, and is its sixth senior hire in the region in recent months. Francisco, CA-headquartered Sanctuary Wealth Services, a provider of business support services for breakaway advisors, named Craig Johnson as chairman. Johnson is vice chairman of JMP Group and a member of its executive committee, as well as chairman of Harvest Capital Strategies. At JMP, Johnson served as president from 2007 through 2010 and earlier was president of JMP Securities between 2002 and 2007. Beacon Trust Company, a Morristown, NJ-based subsidiary of The Provident Bank, appointed Diane Allard as a vice president and portfolio manager, responsible for managing investment portfolios and focused primarily on high net worth clients. Allard spent the past 10 years as a vice president and portfolio manager at TD Wealth, managing investment portfolios for institutional and HNW clients. BNY Mellon chairman and chief executive Gerald Hassell announced three executive promotions. Karen Peetz, was vice chairman and CEO of financial markets and treasury services, and is now president of BNY Mellon. Peetz will lead global client management, regional management, treasury services and human resources. Brian Shea is now president of investment services and head of BNY Mellon's global operations and technology group. Shea will continue in his role as CEO of BNY Mellon's Pershing subsidiary and as head of broker-dealer and advisor services. Lastly, Timothy Keaney, previously vice chairman and CEO of asset servicing, is now CEO of investment services. BNY Mellon said it will align its asset servicing, corporate trust, depositary receipts, global markets, global collateral services, broker-dealer services and Pershing businesses under Keaney's leadership. Keaney retains his vice chairman title. Vice chairman Curtis Arledge remains as CEO of BNY Mellon Investment Management, the New York bank's asset and wealth management businesses. Peetz, Keaney and Arledge continue to report to Hassell. Shea will report to Hassell as head of global operations and technology and to Keaney in his role as president of investment services. Raymond James & Associates added a trio of financial advisors in Fort Lauderdale, FL, from Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Scott Cutliff, Donald Horras and Patricia Polster - who make up the Sunset Financial Group - previously managed over $204 million in client assets and had annual fees and commissions of about $1.5 million. LPL Financial, the independent broker-dealer that is part of LPL Financial Holdings, named Victor Fetter chief information officer and managing director of its business technology services unit. Based in Charlotte, NC, Fetter will report to Mark Casady, LPL Financial chairman and chief executive. He will also serve as a member of the firm's executive management committee. He will develop the firm's existing technology capabilities built by chief information officer Chris Feeney, who is retiring after five years at LPL and over 30 years in the financial services technology industry. Genworth Financial appointed Thomas McInerney as president and chief executive. McInerney will also join the board of directors and James Riepe will continue to serve as the company's non-executive chairman of the board. McInerney previously held senior roles at ING Group and Aetna Financial Services. Meanwhile, Genworth Financial Wealth Management appointed Daniel Courtney as president of Genworth Financial Asset Management, the wealth unit's affiliate investment arm. It is a newly-created role in which Courtney will oversee growth strategy, including product development and target markets. Courtney will report to Mike Abelson, senior vice president of Genworth Financial Wealth Management's investments and product development. He will also work closely with Tim Knepp, chief investment officer of the asset management division. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management added two former Merrill Lynch advisor teams in New York. Nancy Buttweiler, Kristopher Schultz and David Peterson previously managed $141 million in assets and had a combined production of over $1.2 million. They report to branch manager Michael Junker in St Paul. Richard Prybyl, Richard Farr and Steve Headrick previously managed $248 million and had a combined production of about $1.8 million. They join Morgan Stanley in Ithaca and report to Dean Wallace, Central Eastern, NY, complex manager. WSFS Bank appointed Mark Gordon as director of private banking within its wealth management division. Gordon joined the bank in 2007 as vice president within the commercial banking division. Before that he led a private banking team in Greenville, DE, at Mellon Financial Corporation, and earlier still he worked with wealthy clients as an advisor with Merrill Lynch. The Private Client Reserve, a unit of US Bank, appointed Matthew Ordway as a vice president and wealth management advisor in Chicago, IL, and the greater metro area. Ordway will provide private banking, personal trust, investment management and financial planning to HNW clients. Prior to joining the PCR, Ordway was a vice president/relationship manager at PNC Bank Wealth Management. Didem Nisanci, chief of staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission, left the agency. Nisanci was named chief of staff in March 2009 and was a senior advisor to the chairman on policy, management and regulatory issues. New York-based Royal Alliance Associates, an independent broker-dealer, recruited three advisor teams with a combined $800 million in assets under management. The three advisor teams are: Beverly Hills Financial Planners in Beverly Hills, CA; Ranker-Hanshaw Wealth Management in Harrisburg, PA; and Informative Financial Services in Sylvania, OH. The Hedge Fund Association set up a new high net worth advisory board, chaired by marketing veteran April Rudin. The HNW advisory board will develop educational programs and networking events globally for wealthy investors. In a separate move, the HFA promoted Ryan Mitchell to HFA West Coast chapter regional director. Philadelphia, PA-headquartered Janney Montgomery Scott promoted Anthony Miller to executive vice president, chief administrative officer and financial operations principal. Miller joined the firm 10 years ago as the director of internal audit and was later promoted to chief financial officer. Prior to joining Janney, he worked at Ernst & Young. In a separate move, Janney brought in Gregory McShea as senior vice president and general counsel. McShea has 15 years of experience in regulatory and legal affairs within the financial services industry, most recently with M&T Bank. There he oversaw the regulatory and compliance function of the asset management division, and was also responsible for compliance oversight of the bank’s broker-dealer unit. Waterbury, CT-headquartered Webster Bank appointed Al Falco as a senior vice president and senior private banker serving the Greater Hartford region. Falco will provide individuals with banking, lending, investment trust and planning services, as well as institutional asset management for middle-market corporations and non-profits. He was latterly a senior vice president and private client manager in the private wealth management division at US Trust, Bank of America. Wells Fargo Advisors recruited the financial advisor team of Joseph DiRago and Penny DiRago from Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. The two brokers, who are husband and wife, joined the firm's San Antonio, TX, office, where they report to branch manager Hugh Patterson. Joseph and Penny DiRago both worked at Morgan Stanley for over six years. Over the past year they generated $1.4 million in fees and commissions, and managed $180 million in client assets. Peter Moertl left his post as head of international wealth management at BNY Mellon. He held the role for "a little more than two years" and there are no plans to replace him at this time. As head of international wealth management, Moertl lead the firm's international high net worth/family office client business in Asia-Pacfic, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to LinkedIn. Northern Trust expanded its wealth management team in Dallas, TX, adding Michael Montgomery as managing director and Jamie Cuellar as senior investment portfolio manager. Montgomery will lead a team serving affluent individuals and families with investment management, fiduciary and credit needs. He will report to Dallas region president Mark Flagg. Cuellar, who reports to Montgomery, will advise clients on their investment needs. Montgomery was most recently a managing director at Harris myCFO. There, he served as the primary contact, financial strategist and coordinator for the firm's wealth management and family office services across the Southwest. Cuellar was latterly a managing director and portfolio manager with PineBridge Investments and a predecessor subsidiary, John McStay Investment Counsel. Raymond James Financial Services recruited a team of advisors in Baltimore, MD, from LPL Financial, led by advisor Tony Fusco. The team operates as Fusco Financial Associates, an independent firm with offices at 505 Baltimore Avenue in Towson, MD. Fusco is joined by his partner and son, Kevin Fusco, as well as financial advisor David Matthews; senior financial analyst Steven Moore; registered associates Donna Childress and Michelle Dumler, and client services associate Ascenza DiFerdinando. Fusco spent the last 16 years at LPL and managed over $230 million in client assets. East Hartford, CT-based 3D Asset Management added Timothy Baker, Tom Chimirri and Edwin Nunez as regional vice presidents on its business development team. The trio report to Vincent Leon, national sales manager. Baker joined from Symmetry Partners, where he managed key relationships with financial advisors, broker-dealers and RIAs across the US. At 3D, he will serve as the regional vice president for the Southeast region. Meanwhile, Chimirri - latterly of Legg Mason Global Asset Management - is responsible for the North Central region, while Nunez will cover the Northwest region. Prior to joining 3D, Nunez was a regional sales director at Financial Products. Virginia-based registered investment advisor Washington Wealth Management added California Wealth Transitions and Overlake Partners to its advisor platform - taking its assets under management to $1 billion. Based outside Seattle in Bellevue, WA, Overlake Partners is an independent financial advisory practice led by John Wilbourne, principal. Wilbourne has over 18 years of industry experience and was most recently with Wells Fargo Advisors. The Private Client Reserve, a unit of Minneapolis, MN-based US Bank, made two senior hires spanning Naples, FL, and the San Francisco Bay Area. In Naples, Jason Philips joined as vice president and private banker. Meanwhile, Neil O’Keeffe joined as a vice president and wealth management consultant in the Bay Area, spanning San Francisco, Palo Alto, and San Jose. Philips has over a decade of experience working for US Bank and in his new role will serve high net worth individuals and families. He previously worked in the commercial banking division and consumer banking. Meanwhile, O’Keeffe will work with wealthy families, business owners, foundations and individuals. He previously served as a director at AllianceBernstein Institutional Investments and prior to that was a vice president and financial advisor at Bernstein Global Wealth Management. FolioDynamix, a provider of web-based wealth management technology, appointed Aaron Schumm to the newly-created role of chief customer officer. Schumm oversees revenue generation and strategy. He previously served as senior vice president of products for FolioDynamix. He was also one of the firm's original founders in 2007. Prior to joining FolioDynamix, Schumm was a vice president at Citigroup, with a focus on global asset manager solutions. Man Group hired an executive chairman for North America as it looks to grow its business among institutions, foundations, family offices and intermediaries. John Rohal will work closely with Eric Burl and Lance Donenberg, respectively chief operating officer and head of sales for North America, and report to Manny Roman, president and COO of Man. Rohal is a former institutional client of Man’s and was a member of the investment committee at California-based Makena Capital Management, a multi-asset class investment manager. There he oversaw global investments in public equity and tactical hedged equity. He stepped down from this position on joining Man. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management recruited eight financial advisors - seven from Merrill Lynch and one from Barclays - with a combined $778 million in assets under management. The largest former Merrill team by assets includes Luis Fuentes, Christopher Fuentes and Rosario Hondermann, who joined in Miami, FL. They previously oversaw $373 million in client assets and generated $1.97 million in fees and commissions. Senior client service associate Louis Fuentes moved with that team. The team reports to complex manager Kevin McCarty. Meanwhile, a second team comprising Brant Giere and Lisa Szucs joined from Merrill in Akron, OH. Giere and Szucs previously had $210 million in client AuM and $1.005 million in production. They report to branch manager Jason Haines. Additionally, Vince Costanzo and Rex Mack joined from Merrill in Cleveland, OH. The pair previously had $115 million in client AuM and at Morgan Stanley report to branch manager Robert Hartmann. Lastly, joining from Barclays in Shrewsbury, NJ, was Howard Shallcross, who previously oversaw $80 million in client assets. He reports to branch manager Todd Sacks. Barbados-based CIBC FirstCaribbean named Dan Wright as a director for private wealth management. Wright was latterly senior vice president and head of international wealth management at Bank of Nova Scotia in Toronto, a role in which he oversaw the bank’s wealth management business in the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia. He also served as chair of BNS Trust Company in the Bahamas and as a director of various Caribbean-based businesses in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. In his new role Wright will focus on implementing CIBC FirstCaribbean’s new strategy to deliver a “holistic advisory service” to private wealth management clients both regionally and internationally. He will initially be based in CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Cayman Islands office. Geller & Company hired Tricia Levin as its new partner in charge of tax services, responsible for shaping tax strategy for the firm and its clients, and also for helping guide the overall strategic direction of the firm’s Family Office Services business. Levin joined the executive team at Geller from Deloitte’s private company services practice. She worked there for over 17 years, liaising with high net worth individuals and private equity firms on tax matters. New York City-headquartered Snowden Capital Advisors, a dual listed RIA and broker-dealer, made three senior appointments. Lyle LaMothe joined as non-executive chairman of the board, while Greg Franks started as managing partner and president. Finally, Chris Lappas was named chief operating officer. LaMothe is a senior partner of Left Hand Logic, a business consulting firm focused on the independent financial services industry. He was formerly head of US wealth management at Merrill Lynch. Franks was latterly Western/Mid-Atlantic division director and regional managing director of US wealth management at Merrill Lynch. Lappas was previously a regional director for wealth management and banking in the Northeast region at Merrill Lynch. Snowden has brought in two new strategic investors: Bob Doll, chief equity strategist and senior portfolio manager at Nuveen Asset Management and former BlackRock chief equity strategist, along with Brinker Capital, an independent asset management firm based in Berwyn, PA. Doll and Charles Widger, executive chairman of Brinker Capital's board of directors, will join Snowden's strategic advisory board, which also includes LaMothe and Pete Mooney. Aristotle Capital Management hired Dennis Sugino as managing director and part of its executive team. Sugino was a co-founder and president of Cliffwater, an investment firm specializing in alternative assets for institutional clients. He held this role from 2004 to 2012. Standish Mellon Asset Management appointed Federico Garcia Zamora to the newly-created position of senior portfolio manager of currency strategies. Reporting to Standish Mellon's chief investment officer David Leduc, Zamora will be responsible for making investment recommendations in global currencies for single sector and multi-sector fixed income strategies. He will also manage the firm's upcoming currency absolute return strategies. Zamora was previously co-manager of the international fixed income, global fixed income and strategic inflation opportunities funds at American Century Investments. Canada-based Morguard appointed Vikash Jain as vice president and chief investment officer of Morguard Financial, its wholly-owned fund management company. Jain succeeded Charles Dillingham - whose reason for departure is unknown - on December 31. As CIO, Jain will oversee the management of the equity and fixed income portfolios that Morguard Financial manages for its institutional, retail and HNW investors. The members of Dillingham's portfolio management team, Derek Warren and Kate MacDonald, will continue their day-to-day management of the Morguard portfolio of funds under Jain's direction. London-based Insparo Asset Management appointed Glenda Levin as head of marketing, charging her with spearheading a marketing drive targeting international investors, which will focus on the US in particular. Levin previously spent eight years at Pioneer Alternative Investments as head of equity strategy for fund of funds. DA Davidson & Co opened a Pittsburgh office and made a number of hires to its taxable fixed income group. John Koodrich, who joined the firm from Raymond James, runs the new office as chief credit strategist. The new team members are: •Paul Beaudoin, senior vice president, corporate bond trader, Seattle; •George Covert, senior vice president, institutional sales, Austin; •Brian Doherty, vice president, institutional sales, Boston; •Tracy Hindman, vice president, institutional sales, Pittsburgh; •Jake Koodrich, credit strategist, Seattle; •Matt Lynch, senior vice president, institutional sales, Denver; •Doug McKoy, vice president, institutional sales, Denver; •Dan Murphy, senior vice president, institutional sales, New Jersey; •HT Simonton, senior vice president, institutional sales, Memphis; •Jeff Stanley, senior vice president, portfolio strategist, Seattle; •Chris Sundquist, vice president, institutional sales, Lincoln, Nebraska; •Robin Taylor, senior vice president, institutional sales, Chicago. The appointments have extended the taxable fixed income team’s coverage to Chicago, Boston, Austin and Memphis. Members of the strategies team report to James Rice, head of taxable fixed income trading, while the institutional sales team reports to Rick Turnage, head of fixed income sales. Prospera Financial Services brought in two advisors in Westchester, PA, and Plymouth, MA, adding over $56 million in assets under management. Tom Ambrose of Ambrose Wealth Management has over 32 years of experience and was formerly with Ameriprise. Meanwhile, Hilary O’Malley - latterly of Wells Fargo Advisors - joins Plymouth Rock Financial Partners and has been advising clients for over 19 years.