January is often one of the busiest months of the year for moves as wealth management firms kick off the year by naming new teams. The start of 2014 was no different.

Offshore firm Mourant Ozannes appointed Jim Edmondson as head of its international trusts and private client practice. He will take up the role as a consultant on 1 May when the present holder of the role, Douglas Close, steps down. Close has held the position for three years.

Multi-tie mortgage and financial advice network Openwork Group appointed Christopher Rodrigues as chairman. Rodrigues was formally chairman of consumer lending business International Personal Finance, and was president and chief executive of Visa International from 2004-2006, as well as serving as group CEO of Bradford and Bingley for the eight years previously.

Newly launched wealth management firm RiverPeak Wealth appointed James Powell as managing director. Powell, with over 20 years of experience in private banking and financial planning, works alongside former colleague and founder Nick Parker. He joined from Banque Havilland, where he was director of private banking and responsible for establishing and growing the bank’s London branch. Prior to this, he was a wealth structuring specialist and then a private banker at Citi Private Bank.

The firm also appointed Trevor Brown, managing director at Throgmorton, the financial and administrative outsourcing firm, as a member of its advisory board. Prior to joining Throgmorton, Brown spent 12 years with Salomon Brothers and Citigroup, where he was head of European taxation within the investment banking division.

Additionally, RiverPeak appointed Richard Grainger to its advisory board. Grainger has over 25 years of experience in the City of London, and was chief executive of Close Brothers Corporate Finance between 2001 to 2007 and sat on the management board of Close Brothers Group between 2003 to 2009.

David Douglas-Home, the Earl of Home retired as chairman of the UK private bank Coutts & Co. He continues as chairman of the board for the firm’s international business, Switzerland-based Coutts & Co Ltd. Having served as chairman of the UK board for the last 14 years, Lord Home left his position on 31 December 2013. He was replaced by Lord Waldegrave of North Hill, who joined the Coutts UK board as a non-executive director in December 2012, and who assumed the role of chairman.

Brooks Macdonald International appointed Jeremy Stubbs to lead its investment advisory and dealing teams. Stubbs joined from Cannacord and reports to Matt Watson, the head of BMI’s office on the island.

Skandia International appointed David Denton to manage its technical sales team. Denton was made redundant at the firm in October 2012 following an internal restructure. After a brief spell working in a technical sales role with Prudential, he returned to Skandia International in London. He will report to Darren Jones, head of technical sales.

Nigel Wray, chairman of Saracens rugby club and an industry entrepreneur, joined the online wealth manager Nutmeg after having made a significant investment in the firm. Wray has invested in and developed successful organisations across a range of sectors, particularly the investment, property, fund, media and sport industries.

JP Morgan Asset Management appointed Tim Mitchell to lead its four-person investment trust sales team at JPMAM in London. He is responsible for sales and investor relations activity for the firm’s range of trusts across the institutional, private client, advisory and execution-only channels, as well as aiding any future investment trust launches.

In addition, JPAM confirmed that fund manager Neill Nuttall is stepping down after 30 years at the company to pursue other opportunities. Nuttall is co-manager of the JP Morgan Income and Growth trust and previously headed the Global Multi-Asset Group as well as leading the AMS Global Strategy team.

Geneva-based Argos Investment Managers appointed former investment banker and asset manager Nick Hamwee to head its Argos UK wing in London. Hamwee has been in the industry for 25 years, specialising in building businesses both at home and abroad. He was previously of co-head of CSFB’s US Cash Equity business in Europe, where he helped increase the firm’s market share on the continent.

Mirabaud appointed Kirill Pyshkin in London as fund manager of global equities. He leads the new global fund, reporting to Aru Narula, head of global equities. He joined from Aviva Investors, where he served as a senior fund manager of global equities, seeing over £1 billion ($1.66 billion) of active global equity funds.

Salamanca Group, a London-based operational risk management and merchant banking firm, recruited former Goldman Sachs employee Martin Devenish as group head of strategy in a newly created role. At Goldman Sachs, he held a number of senior roles in equity capital markets in a career of over 20 years.  

SEI, the US-listed investment solutions firm, appointed Brett Williams as UK managing director, SEI Wealth PlatformSM. Williams has worked in financial services for 30 years and joined SEI from LW2 Private Equity Partnership, where he was partner. SEI also named Jim London as UK chief operating officer. A long-term employee of SEI, he will continue to lead SEI Wealth Platform solution development efforts in the UK and oversees operations and change management.

Henderson Global Investors promoted Paul O’Connor to co-head of its multi-asset team. O’Connor works with Bill McQuaker, who leads the 13-strong team managing £6 billion in assets. In addition, Rob MacQueen joined Henderson’s property business as a senior portfolio manager for the £1.3 billion Henderson UK Property Unit Trust.

Asset management firm Quilter Cheviot appointed William Reid as head of its billion-pound charity division. A partner at the London-based Cheviot since 2006, he will oversee approximately £1.3 billion ($2.13 billion) of assets in his head of charities role.

SVM Asset Management, the UK-based investment house, promoted Craig Jeruzal and Alasdair Birch to become deputy fund managers of two of its funds. Jeruzal was appointed deputy fund manager for the £108 million ($177.3 million) SVM UK Opportunities fund after being promoted from his role of UK investment analyst to support lead manager Neil Veitch on portfolio strategy and allocation. Jeruzal joined in 2006 from Kempen Capital Management.

bfinance, the UK-headquartered investment consultancy, appointed Derek Williams as managing director, private markets. He previously worked at Russell Investments where he was head of private real estate managing a team of eight investment professionals. During his eight years at the firm he managed two global REIT funds as well as two segregated mandates and was responsible for the allocation and management of more than $1.8 billion in discretionary client assets.

JP Morgan Asset Management appointed Andrea Hohlachoff as head of insurance and platforms within the global strategic relationships management team of UK Funds Sales, reporting to Andrew Larkin, head of global strategic relationships. In the newly created role, Hohlachoff is responsible for developing and advancing key strategic partnerships with life insurance companies, fund supermarkets and wrap platforms.

The UK-based bank Brown Shipley, which saw its parent KBL European Banks acquired by Qatari-based Precision Capital in 2012, appointed Hugh Titcomb as head of private banking. Titcomb is based at the firm's London office and replaces Julian Hardiman, who stepped down from his role in December. Titcomb has over 28 years of experience and has held a number of senior executive roles including vice chairman and group chief executive at Sanlam Private Investments UK, group CEO of the Ansbacher Banking Group and managing director positions at Bank of New York and Flemings/JP Morgan.

In addition, Brown Shipley appointed chief financial officer Andrew Curran to the board of directors and Jim Willens re-joined as a non-executive director. Robert Kitchen and Bob Smoker stepped down from the board of directors with their management roles at Brown Shipley remaining unchanged, while recently appointed chief risk officer, Mike Hudson, takes reporting responsibility for the firm’s compliance function.

Toby Hampden-Acton stepped down from his role as chief executive of the London-based F&C business, Thames River Capital. Hampden-Acton has served with the boutique asset manager since 2004 and was its chief compliance officer prior to becoming chief executive.

Societe Generale Private Banking Hambros appointed ex-JP Morgan Private Bank portfolio management head Anthony Hourdé. Hourdé worked at JP Morgan Private Bank for eight years; most recently, he was an executive director in the portfolio management group, a spokesperson for the French firm confirmed to this publication in an email.

HSBC Private Bank (UK) appointed Paul O'Donnell to the new role of head of UK Domestic, HSBC Private Bank (UK). O’Donnell has more than 25 years' experience in the wealth management industry, holding positions including those of head of private banking at EFG, head of sales for the UK, Northern and Eastern Europe at UBS Wealth Management, and group business development director at Brewin Dolphin, to whom he sold his own wealth management partnership in the 1990s.

HSBC Private Bank (UK) also appointed Charles Boulton as global market head, UK International. Holding this position on an active basis since April last year after the post was vacated by his predecessor, he is responsible for the UK International business globally, including the teams in Guernsey, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York. Boulton has over 20 years of wealth management experience both in the UK and abroad. He joined HSBC Private Bank in 2006 from Bank of Bermuda.

Frankfurt-headquartered Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management added Hugo Vere as a head of asset management and director of its real estate investment business in the UK. Based in London, Vere reports to head of UK at DeAWM Real Estate, James Petit, while overseeing real estate asset management in the UK, in addition to developing new real estate services for DeAWM's global clients.

Santander Asset Management appointed Adam Harnetty as head of credit research, European Fixed Income. Harnetty heads a team of four fixed income analysts and is responsible for enhancing the credit investment process and supporting stock-selection decisions for the euro and sterling portfolios. He is based in London and reports to Adam Cordery, global head of European fixed income.

Mark Churchill joined the financial planning website and app, YourWealth.co.uk as paid acquisition manager in a newly created role. He previously worked at Hargreaves Lansdown, where he led its PPC advertising, retargeting and paid content marketing campaigns, and introduced paid content marketing campaigns and display retargeting to the firm. Churchill reports to the Bristol-headquartered firm’s founding director Toby Hughes.

UK-headquartered Sesame Bankhall Group chief executive George Higginson left after three years with the company. Finance director Paul Hooper also left the group and was replaced by Jim Kelly, who has 30 years of industry experience and has held senior roles with Lloyds Abbey Life, RBS and Aviva.

Royal London Asset Management, the investment subsidiary of the mutual life and pensions firm, Royal London, appointed Tracy Fennell as head of marketing, reporting to Rob Williams, head of distribution. Fennell was previously head of marketing & communications at F&C Asset Management and prior to this she held marketing roles at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, AXA Investment Managers and Newton Investment Management. The former head of marketing, Susan Spiller, took up a new role as head of proposition, responsible for product strategy, development and management.

The Edinburgh-headquartered asset manager Kames Capital appointed Carolyn Bell to its international equities team as investment manager. Bell joined Kames as an investment manager with responsibility for idea generation and portfolio management across North American equities. Based in Edinburgh, she reports to Kames’ head of North American equities, Marcus Chandler. Director of property investment David Wise was appointed the new chairman of the Association of Real Estate Funds.

Barclays Wealth and Investment Management appointed Mark Richards to the new private clients team which will support clients in the UK with assets of less than £500,000. The bank also cut the number of regional heads to two from four with the appointments of Calum Brewster and Ben Gulliford. Brewster is regional head for North, covering Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North of England, while Gulliford is regional head for the South, covering the Midlands, South West, South East and Wales. Gordon Scott is responsible for covering West of Scotland and Northern Ireland, while John Godfrey is responsible for the team covering the East of Scotland. Alan Edwards is responsible for the team covering the North West of England, while Martin Cuthbert heads the North East of England. All four report to Brewster.

Ignis Asset Management, the London-headquartered emerging markets investment specialist, appointed Jamie Horton to its UK commercial property trust team in the role of asset manager, while Lucy Williams joined as a real estate product specialist. Horton joined from the Glasgow office of DTZ where he was an associate director on the investment agency team. Williams was previously responsible for business development and investor relations at Lothbury Investment Management.

Dalton Strategic Partnership, the global investment management firm, appointed Mark Greenhoff to the Melchior European equity team as a senior analyst for the long and short strategy, managed by Leonard Charlton. Greenhoff has 18 years of experience of managing European equities and began his career at BZW Investment Management in 1989, before moving to Royal London Asset Management.

The head of compliance at the UK-listed brokerage and wealth manager Charles Stanley, Venetia Malpas, left the firm to take early retirement. In the interim period, chief operating officer for financial services Ben Money-Coutts has taken over, supported by Grant Thornton auditor Peter Kelk.

Pictet Asset Management, part of Swiss banking house Pictet, appointed Luke Chua as senior investment manager for emerging corporate bonds to the London-based team. He previously worked at Schroder Investment Management. He began his career as a credit analyst in 1996 at Axa Investment Managers and in his previous job, Chua managed the Emerging Markets Corporate Bond fund in Singapore.

Henderson Global Investors appointed Steve Jenner as head of customer strategy and Calyn Chan Gardner as product development manager for Europe and Asia. Both report to James Bowers, Henderson’s head of product. In a career spanning over 20 years, Jenner has previously held positions at Gartmore and Invesco.

Legal & General Investment Management appointed Willem Klijnstra and Chris Jeffery as strategists within the tactical asset allocation research and strategy area, reporting to Emiel van den Heiligenberg, head of asset allocation. Klijnstra and Jeffery will work closely with LGIM’s portfolio management and investment teams, both in fixed income and asset allocation. Klijnstra was previously head of research and acting chief investment officer at BNP Paribas Investment Partners.

Michael Lee joined Frankfurt-headquartered Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management as a director and head of consultants UK for the firm’s global client group. Based in London, Lee reports to the global head of consultant relations, CGC, Mark Bolton. Lee previously held similar roles at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership and BlackRock.

The Financial Conduct Authority appointed Robert Taylor as head of wealth management and private banking in its supervision division. As well as being the former CEO at Kleinwort Benson, a role he held until 2011, he previously worked at Merrill Lynch, SG Hambros and Coutts.

Throgmorton, a UK back office service provider to the investment management community, appointed Denis Jackson in the new role as business development director. Jackson joined from Tibra Trading, a private technology proprietary trading business, where he served as regional general manager for Europe and the United States, and was responsible for implementing strategy across its full range of operating departments. Prior to this, he held a number of senior positions for Salomon Brothers/Citigroup, for a period of 19 years.

Close Brothers Asset Management appointed Seton Craven as investment director to its bespoke investment management team, reporting to head of bespoke investment management Nancy Curtin. Craven joined from Psigma Investment Management, where he was responsible for managing multi-asset portfolios for high net worth families and trusts.

In addition, Close Brothers Asset Management also appointed Robert Alster as head of research, reporting to chief investment officer Nancy Curtin. In his new role, Alster is responsible for leading a centralised team of investment professionals dedicated to fundamental equity research supporting our investment managers.

Switzerland
Patrick Raaflaub stepped down as chief executive of the Swiss financial regulator FINMA. Raaflaub had been responsible for the supervisory authority's management for over five years. Deputy chief executive Mark Branson took over the management of FINMA as of February 2014 until further notice.

Vontobel Asset Management appointed Anton Oberhofer and Thomas Haltner to its global balanced Switzerland team. Oberhofer has 18 years investment experience as a manager of balanced portfolios. He joined from Swiss & Global Asset Management, formerly part of the Julius Baer group, where he was responsible for the management of institutional mandates, indirect real-estate investing and served as a member of the investment committee.

The chief financial officer at Switzerland’s Banque Profil de Gestion, Lionel Lafeuille, resigned from the firm; it gave no further details.

Mirabaud has added eight new members to the boards of its private banking and asset management businesses. Those appointed include Luc Thévenoz, Suzanne Wettenschwiler and Antonio Vegezzi to the Mirabaud & Cie SA board of directors, while Vegezzi also joins the board of directors of Mirabaud Asset Management's Switzerland and London-based subsidiaries, alongside new directors Yvar Mentha and Christopher Fawcett. The group also appointed Pierre Bongard, Bernard Vischer and François Sunier to the supervisory board of Mirabaud SCA, the firm's newly created umbrella structure. The firm said that all the new board additions have expertise across finance, law and accounting.

EFG International said its chief financial officer, Giorgio Pradelli, took on the added role of deputy chief executive to allow his colleague and CEO, John Williamson, to focus more time on developing the firm’s five private banking operations. Pradelli will now concentrate on EFGI’s operational and risk platform as well as take on the deputy CEO role; the change takes place immediately. The composition of EFGI’s executive committee were unchanged.

A ninth managing partner has been appointed at Lombard Odier Group.

Dr Hugo Bänziger joined from derivatives exchange Eurex, where he is the chairman of the board of directors. When not in the boardroom, Dr Bänziger is involved in teaching across the globe. He is adjunct professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, visiting professor of the Lew Kwan Yew Institute for Public Policy, National University of Singapore and visiting professor at the London School of Economics.

Europe
Vontobel Asset Management hired Christian Hoeg as its new country manager in Germany. With the appointment, Hoeg took on the role as head of fixed income sales for Germany and Austria, as well as becoming executive director at Bank Vontobel Europe. Hoeg has over 20 years of experience in institutional relationship management, joining from Swiss & Global Asset Management, formerly Julius Baer, where he was head of institutional sales. Prior to this, Hoeg worked in the institutional business of DG Bank. The role of head of the German fund client business was previously managed by Beate Meyer, who took over responsibility for the strategic partnership between Vontobel and Australia’s ANZ Group in Sydney with effect from April 2014.

EFG International’s business in Luxembourg appointed a team head covering Greece - a newly created role. It appointed Lena Lascari and she will be a member of the management committee and report to François-Regis Montazel, managing director of EFG Bank (Luxembourg). Lascari focuses on development of Greek high net worth individual business. She was most recently chief executive and managing director of Eurobank Private Bank, based in Luxembourg. Prior to this, she was head of wealth management at HSBC in Athens, Greece from 2001 to 2002 and, before that, spent 15 years at Credit Commercial de France, culminating as country CEO, Greek branches.

The president and chief executive of the Swedish financial services group, Catella, was appointed as the new head of corporate finance, as the current corporate finance head resigns. Leading one of the firm’s two operating segments, former CEO Johan Ericsson will share the role with a person who has yet to be recruited.

Saxo Bank added two new members to its board of directors, appointing Lone Fønss Schrøder as vice chairman and Jacob Polny, a former alternate member, who continued on as a full member of the board. The new members take over from Asiff Hirji, partner in TPG Capital and Kurt K. Larsen, chairman of the international transport group DSV, who both left the board.

Luxembourg-headquartered KBL European Private Bankers, which is owned by the Luxembourg-based bank holding group, Precision Capital, announced a top-level management reshuffle. Yves Stein, who for the past year has overseen the group’s pan-European private banking activities in his capacity as a member of the KBL epb executive committee, was appointed Group CEO. Stein previously held the position of CEO of Union Bancaire Privée (Europe) in Luxembourg. He earlier served as director general, Private Banking, at BNP Paribas (Switzerland).

He took over from Jacques Peters – who had been in the role during the global financial crisis and firm’s acquisition in 2012 by Precision Capital. Peters continues to serve as chairman of the board of directors of Puilaetco Dewaay Private Bankers in Brussels (which is part of KBL).

Marc Lauwers, who joined the group in 2013 as chief operating officer, assumed additional responsibility as deputy group CEO, working directly alongside Stein.
Previously a member of the executive committee at Belfius Bank in Belgium, responsible for retail and commercial Banking, Lauwers earlier served as chief operating officer at Belfius and, before that, as CEO of Dexia Banka Slovensko, based in Slovakia.

Three new members were appointed to the board of directors of KBL epb: Ernst Wilhelm (Bill) Contzen, former CEO of Deutsche Bank Luxembourg and current President of the Luxembourg Bankers’ Association, who assumed chairmanship of the board following the retirement of current KBL epb chairman Jan Huyghebaert in March of this year; Alfred Bouckaert, former chairman of Belfius Bank, as well as former chairman of AXA Belgium;  Nicholas Harvey, deputy CEO of Precision Capital, the Luxembourg-based shareholder of KBL epb, and former chief risk officer and member of the Management Board at Amlin Europe.

Jersey-headquartered JTC Group announced two senior appointments in its technology and marketing operations. Adam Jeffries, who was previously global head of IT operations at Appleby, joined in Jersey as chief information officer and David Vieira, who was head of marketing at Jersey Finance (the promotional agency for the island’s financial sector), was appointed group head of business development and marketing.

Luxembourg-headquartered NPG Wealth Management appointed Marc Stevens as group chief executive and general manager of Private Estate Life and Altraplan Luxembourg, businesses that are part of NPG. Stevens took over from Stephen Bright who decided to retire from the post at the end of December last year. Stevens has worked for the last 12 years for Vitis Life, initially as sales and marketing manager and from 2009 as CEO and general manager.

Boston Consulting Group veteran Elmar Wiederin left the company and was named as a senior partner at wealth management group Kaiser Partner. Purchasing a 15 per cent stake in the Liechtenstein-based Kaiser Partner, Wiederin joined as a senior partner and vice chairman. He worked at BCG for 20 years.

Coutts made two “pivotal senior appointments” for its international trust business in Jersey: Debbie Sebire and Naomi Rive. Sebire joined as non-executive director of Coutts Trustees (Jersey).  She was previously a director for the Jersey Financial Services Commission. Prior to this, she was a director of Cititrust (Jersey) Limited, establishing and administering high net-worth structures. Rive was named chief trust officer, taking on the post on 1 April; she was previously a partner and head of international private clients and trusts at law firm Appleby in Jersey, and a director of its trust business, responsible for advising on all aspects of trust law and foundation, wealth and estate planning issues. Rive joined the Coutts Trustees (Jersey) Board and lead the development of trust policies and standards. She will work with Martin Hall, managing director.

Deutsche Bank hired Klaus Stoltenberg as the firm’s global head of shipping. Stoltenberg is responsible for coordinating all Deutsche Bank activities with shipping industry clients, in addition to managing the coverage team. Based in Hamburg, Stoltenberg reports to Raj Bhattacharyya, head of capital markets and treasury solutions for Western Europe, and Armin von Falkenhayn, co-head of corporate banking & securities for Germany. Most recently he served as the global head of ship and aircraft finance at the German landesbank, NORD/LB.

Saxo Bank appointed Matteo Cassina to the newly created position of global head of institutional business. He is based at Saxo Bank’s London office in Canary Wharf, and reports to the co-chief executives and co-founders, Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen. He has served as the head of prime access SM for Goldman Sachs and head of total trader for Merrill Lynch. He later served as president of Citadel Execution Services, the broker dealer of the US Hedge Fund. As a former member of the Boerse Berlin Exchange Council and the Boerse Berlin Supervisory Board, Cassina also brings regulatory and market control experience.

SBKG & associés, the French law firm, appointed Damien Billet to its Marseille office, to develop a team working in areas including personal tax issues.
Damien, as well as the other partners in the Marseille office, works with both French and international clients. He advises corporations and their managers on corporate and personal tax issues. He also advises investment funds as well as companies regarding capital investment operations.

Carmignac Gestion Group, the European asset manager and private bank, appointed a new European equities team, headed by Muhammed Yesilhark. The four-man team joined from SAC Global Investors and will be based in Carmignac Gestion Luxembourg’s London branch. Yesilhark started his career as an analyst at Lazard in Frankfurt. He then helped to build York Capital’s hedge fund business.

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management added Philip Poole as the firm’s new head of research. In this newly created role, Poole leads research activity across DeAWM's investment platforms globally. Based in London, Poole is a managing director and reports to DeAWM's co-chief investment officers, Randy Brown and Asoka Wöhrmann. Poole was most recently global head of macro & investment strategy at HSBC Global Asset Management.

International
Brazilian bank, Itaú Unibanco appointed Ken Casey, a new head of its asset management business in London, only 18 months after securing UK regulatory approval. Casey took on the role having served as the director of operations for asset management Europe & Middle East Itaú Unibanco since 2011, based in Dubai.

South Africa-headquartered Standard Bank appointed Mark Hucker as chief executive of its Personal & Business Banking International division, which includes offshore businesses in Isle of Man, Jersey and Mauritius, as well as distribution and support in London and Johannesburg. Hucker joined Standard Bank in 2011 as chief risk officer of PBBI.

South Africa's Standard Bank bolstered its international private clients investment division, Melville Douglas, with the hire of Justin Maloney as a senior portfolio manager. Maloney joined the private clients investment team in the Channel Islands, as part of the division’s expansion. Maloney spent three years as a senior investment manager, managing global equity funds for South African based clients with the UK asset management boutique Four Capital Partners. Previously he also held portfolio management roles with Artefact Partners, Oakside Capital and Foreign & Colonial Management.

The London and Johannesburg-listed bank and asset manager, Old Mutual, added Zoe Cruz and Adiba Ighodaro to its board as independent non-executive directors, effective immediately.

Middle East and Africa
Old Mutual Asset Management, the US-based global asset management business of Old Mutual, has hired Richard Souri as senior vice president and head of Middle East sales to lead the firm's marketing efforts in the Middle East. In his new role, Souri focuses on introducing OMAM’s affiliates’ investment capabilities to institutional investors in the region, including sovereign wealth funds, local pension funds and family offices. Working out of Old Mutual’s London office, his primary area of responsibility is in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Julius Baer appointed John Dagher as the head of its Lebanon business, Dagher based in Beirut and focus on further developing the Zurich-listed bank’s business in the country and the Levant region. He will report to Fred Hilal, Head Middle East Domestic. Dagher has more than 30 years’ experience in advising ultra-high net worth individuals, family offices and foundations.

Naveed Ahmed joined Credit Suisse as a managing director in Dubai. Ahmed was previously a senior figure at UBS, holding the role of managing director - global emerging markets; and prior to that, he was a managing director at Citi Private Bank.

Asia-Pacific
Australia
Joe Hockey, the treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia, announced the appointment of four members to the Financial System Inquiry panel, which include some senior wealth management figures. Chaired by David Murray, chief executive, the panel now seats Professor Kevin Davis of the University of Melbourne, Craig Dunn, CEO for AMP, Carolyn Henson, former Schroders director, and Dr Brian McNamee, former CEO of CSL. In a statement, the firm said the choices reflect the importance of the wealth management industry to the economy's growth.

SFG Australia announced that Tony Fenning, managing director and chief executive, temporary left the company in 23 December 2013 and is expected to return in late January 2014, without citing reasons. John Cowan, chief operating officer, had stepped in as interim CEO.

Zurich Financial Services Australia named Andy Marshall as head of sales strategies and research, life risk, responsible for developing, promoting and distributing the firm's life insurance service in the country. Marshall previously the regional manager for life risk in Victoria, replaced Marc Fabris, who was promoted to the global role of head of new distribution.

Wilson HTM Investment Group announced changes to its senior management ranks following the departure of Karen Penrose from the chief financial officer and company secretary roles. Don Mackenzie took over as company secretary. Meanwhile, Philippa Abbott continues as assistant company secretary, while Todd Curby and Shaun Sanders retain their roles as joint group financial controllers. Penrose's departure was first announced in August 2013 when AWE Limited announced it was taking her in as an independent non-executive director.

NAB Asset Servicing named Peter Hele as its new business development head for Australia and New Zealand. Hele has been with NAB for 14 years and previously served as a member of the asset servicing team. He reports to Suzanne Smith, general manager for sales and relationships.

Kardinia Capital hired former Nomura Australia executive Peter Lucas as a portfolio manager, to work alongside current managers Mark Burgess and Kristiaan Rehder. The now three-person team manages the Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund, a long/short Australian equity product for which Bennelong is the responsible entity.

Melbourne-based OC Funds Management announced the appointment of John Clothier as general manager of distribution, after serving on the advice network of BT Financial. In this role, he is responsible for leading and building a new sales team and for introducing the Odey International Fund for the Australian retail market.

Australia and New Zealand wealth manager AMP named Helen Livesey to the newly-created role of director for brand and marketing to boost consumer engagement. Livesey assumed the role after holding a number of position within the firm for the past 15 years. She is credited for leading the development and introduction of the company's new logo in 2011.

China
Chinese wealth manager Noah Holdings added Zhiwu Chen to its board as independent director. Chen was a professor of finance at Yale University and also sits as independent non-executive director at Bank of Communications and Lord Abbett China Asset Management. With this appointment, he becomes part of Noah's corporate governance and nominating committee, replacing Ji Liu who has resigned.

Newedge, the joint venture between Societe Generale and Credit Agricole, welcomed Eric Shi as its new commodities head in China. Shi rejoined the firm after a two-year stint as global head of commodities at BOC International. Before that, he led Newedge's energy business in China for eight years. Based in New York, he now reports to Robert Vujtech, global co-head of energy.

HSBC Bank bolstered its China business with the hire of Montgomery Ho as deputy chief executive and executive director. Ho has been with the company since 1983 and has since held key management positions. He replaced Chris Davies, who is now the CEO international of the bank.

State Street, the global investment management firm, expanded its range of alternative investment solutions with the opening of a new office in Shanghai. The new branch reports to Eric Chow, head of relationship management for the AIS unit in Asia-Pacific.

Hong Kong
PineBridge Investments hired industry veteran Stephan van Vliet for the newly-created role of head of insurance asset management based in Hong Kong. Van Vliet was previously the head of investments at ING Insurance Asia-Pacific. While his position is based in Hong Kong, his coverage is global. He reports to David Jian, global chief executive, and Rajeev Mittal, CEO of Asia.

ABN AMRO Private Banking added four senior private bankers to its team in Hong Kong. Aditya Jayarama is now regional head of private banking for North Asia, reporting to Ian Pollock. He joined the bank from Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. Raymond Cheung joined in December as North Asia team head, after spending the past 11 years providing advice to clients in Greater China on business development, fund raising and financial planning. Reporting to Cheung is senior private banker Connie Lam, who moved from VP Bank. Steven Lee also joined the Greater China team as senior private banker, reporting to Angela Wu, market manager for China.

UK-headquartered Alquity Investment Management appointed Mike Sell as head of Asian equities. Sell joined from F& C Investments where he was a senior fund manager in the emerging markets equities team.

BNY Melon named former news correspondent and presenter Kyoko Altman as head of Asia-Pacific communications and public relations for its investment business. This is a newly-created role made to highlight the US firm's efforts into the Asia-Pacific region. Based in Hong Kong, Altman is now part of the Asia-Pacific investment management executive committee and reports to Alan Harden, CEO for BNY Mellon Investment Management Asia-Pacific. She previously worked at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Global investment consulting firm Mercer bolstered its Hong Kong office with the hired of Adeline Tan as investment advisory head, responsible for advising clients on long-term investment strategy and portfolio construction. She reports to Deborah Bannon, investments business leader for Greater China. She joined from Towers Watson in London, where she managed a team specialising in fiduciary services.

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management hired former BEA Union executive Elke Schoeppl-Jost as its new chief investment officer for Asia-Pacific. She replaced Chris Siniakov, who is leaving the firm. In her new role, Schoeppl-Jost will be based both in Hong Kong and Singapore and reports to Sean Taylor, head of emerging markets, and regionally to Ravi Raju, head of DeAWM in Asia-Pacific. She leads the active equity, fixed income and multi-asset investment teams in the region.

Herbert Smith Freehills, the international law firm, appointed Richard Norridge to lead its Asia private wealth practice. In this newly-created role, Norridge acts for high net worth individuals, their families, private banks and other advisors trust and probate issues, together with charitable and family company matters. He joined the firm in 2011 and has worked with Asia managing partner Mark Johnson and Hong Kong-based head of litigation Gareth Thomas to grow the private wealth practice.

UBS Wealth Management Hong Kong appointed Adeline Chien as managing director and country team head of HK Team 1. Chien succeeded Becky Li who will retire at the end of March this year. Li leaves the firm after having been at UBS since 2002. At the start of 2014, Vicki Lee, managing director, was named country team head of Hong Kong Team 6. As part of the changes, Francis Hung, desk head of HK Team 5, and his team, moved to the newly-created HK Team 6 and report to Vicki Lee. Both Chien and Lee report to Jean-Claude Humair, regional market manager for Hong Kong. Among other appointments, Yu-Kyung Whan, executive director, transferred from Ernst Schuler's team to head a new desk in HK Team 6, reporting to Lee. Henry Lau, executive director, joined from Shanghai Commercial Bank to head a new desk in HK Team 1. He reports to Chien.

Marcus Leese, who moved to Hong Kong in 2010 to establish the Ogier Channel Islands' practice in Asia, had returned to Guernsey after having been the first such lawyer to operate in Asia. In his change role, Leese divides his time between Guernsey and Hong Kong, as Asia will remain a key focus for him and for the firm. Richard Bennett, his associate lawyer in Hong Kong, continues to work with Leese in promoting Guernsey and will be available to assist Guernsey Finance, the island's promotional agency.

Coutts, the private bank, appointed two senior managers to newly-created roles at its products and services team in Asia. Eng Ming Hoe joined as executive director and head of treasury for Singapore, with responsibility for the strategic and risk management of the Singapore and Asia treasury desk balance sheets. Alex Ng was named executive director and head of foreign exchange, joining from Julius Baer in Singapore where he was director of foreign exchange advisor. Both report to Jonathan Lee, the head of treasury services and dealing in Asia.

Hong Kong-based REORIENT Group expanded its Asian equities arm with two key appointments. Jeremy Gray joined the firm as managing director from Standard Chartered, where he was the head of resources equity research. Andrew Mullins was named senior equity sales trader after serving as a senior Asian equity trader at Wellington Management, where he worked for 11 years.

JP Morgan Asset Management appointed Travis Spence as head of the global strategic relationship group for Asia-Pacific ex-Japan. Based in Hong ong, he now works with various teams while overseeing the regional and local client relationships in Asia. He reports to Jed Laskowitz, the Asia-Pacific CEO. His old role was filled by Paula Stibbe, managing director and client portfolio manager, who will relocate from New York to Hong Kong in early 2014.

The chief executive of Standard Life in Hong Kong, Roy Halliday, left the firm to go on gardening leave until 31 March 2014. In the meantime, his responsibilities were assumed by Neal Armstrong, who is also the current CEO in Singapore. Armstrong's own appointment change is subject to regulatory approval.

US global private equity manager Hamilton Lane strengthened its Asia business with the appointment of two senior executives. Mingchen Xia was named principal of the fund investment team, while Yen Li Chew became the vice president in the business development group. Both are based in Hong Kong. Xia was previously a fund manager at Tokio Marine, while Chew joined from Oaktree Capital, where she was VP for marketing and client relations.

International law firm Lathan & Watkins hired former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Howard Lam as partner for its finance department in Hong Kong. In this new role, Lam focuses on banking, cross-border debt restructuring and insolvency work and complex financing transactions. He also handles private equity funds and corporate in both Hong Kong and Mainland China.

Sun Life Hong Kong named Greg Kwan as its new chief financial officer to replace Hannah Chan, who has left. Kwan was previously the vice president for internal audit at Sun Life Financial Asia. He now reports to Wim Hekstra, CEO for Hong Kong. The company did not say to where Chan is moving.

DLA Piper bolstered its Hong Kong practise with the hire of Mark Fairbairn as head of restructuring for Asia. Fairbairn joined from O'Melveny & Myers and focuses on distressed and alternative investments, financial restructurings and insolvency matters. He was joined by Ashley Bell, also from O'Melveny, who was named counsel in the restructuring division.

US-based international law firm K&L Gates added Greg Heaton as partner to its Hong Kong investment management practice. Heaton joined from the Hong Kong office of Deacons, another law firm. In his new role, he will focus on investment management and financial services regulation. He is the fourth partner appointment into K&L Gates' Asia business in 2014.

India
Bank of America Merrill Lynch named former Goldman Sachs director Vikram Sahu as head of Southern Asia equity research, responsible for ASEAN and India equity strategy. He is based in Singapore. Meanwhile, Jyoti Jaipuria continues in his role as head of India equity research and as India equity strategist. He reports to Sahu and remains located in Mumbai. Ching Seng Tay was also named deputy head of ASEAN equity research, reporting to Sahu. He is based in Singapore covering ASEAN financials while supporting the equity strategy unit.

Japan
Mizuho Financial Group announced that, effective 1 April 2014, current deputy president and deputy president-executive Nobuhide Hayashi becomes the new president and CEO of the firm. He takes over from Yasuhiro Sato, who takes the role of director on the same date.

Nikko Asset Management announced that David Semaya will take over as the new chairman effective 1 April 2014. Semaya, who joins from Barclays, replaces Charles Beazley, who is stepping down in April for family-related reasons. Also newly-appointed is Takumi Shibata as president and CEO of Nikko AM. In addition to these roles, he continues as executive chairman until Semaya officially steps in.

Fullerton Asset Management, the Singapore-headquartered investment firm, named Fumio Izumi to lead the newly-opened office in Japan. Izumi is the representative director for the Japan business. He reports to Manraj Sekhon, the CEO and CIO based in Singapore. He is accompanied initially by one staff member.

BoA Merrill Lynch named Timothy Latimore as representative director and president of Merrill Lynch Japan Securities effective 1 February 2014. He also becomes the country executive for Japan. Latimore, who has been with the firm for 20 years, replaced Jiro Seguchi, who takes up a regional leadership role as head of Asia-Pacific global corporate and investment banking. The currenty deputy branch manager, Koichi Kagawa, was appointed acting branch manager of BoA in Tokyo.
Mizuho Financial Group announced that, effective 1 April 2014, current deputy president and deputy president-executive Nobuhide Hayashi becomes the new president and chief executive of the firm. He takes over from Yasuhiro Sato, who takes the role of director on the same date.

Nikko Asset Management boosted its sales team with the hire of three senior executives and a new investment head. Takuya Koyama was named global head of sales, responsible for global institutional sales and international retail sales. Hideyuki Omokawa is now head of strategic product innovation to oversee the development of products globally, while managing the interation between the sales and investment teams through a newly-established office of the chief investment officer. Motonobu Hasegawa is now global head of request for proposal, to lead a team of specialists in Japan and in overseas offices. In the investment management division, Yu-Ming Wang was appointed global head of investment, while Japan CIO Hiroki Tsujimura will continue to be responsible for investment management in the Tokyo branch. Omokawa's ang Wang's roles took effect in 31 January, while Koyama and Hasegawa joined officially in 1 February.

Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore, the city-state's financial regulatory body, announced two reappointments to its board of directors. Lim Chee Onn, senior international advisor for Singbridge Private, and Peter Ong, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance, joined the now nine-member board. The MAS board is led by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, deputy prime minister of the Ministry of Finance, as chairman, and Lim Hng Kiang, minister of trade and industry, as deputy chairman.

Bank J Safra Sarasin bolstered its South East Asia business with the hire of Jennie Hananto as vice chair for client advisory in South East Asia. Hananto joined from BSI Bank, Singapore, where she served as deputy head of South East Asia since 2010. She reports to Eric Morin, CEO for the Singapore branch and South East Asia.

Pinsent Masons MPillay, the Singapore joint venture law partner of UK law firm Pinsent Masons, hired eight corporate lawyers from its local rival as part of efforts to further build its corporate practice in Asia. The lawyers, all from Singapore law firm KhattarWong, left amid a major restructuring within the firm. The exodus included Perry Yuan, head of corporate and securities, Kelvyn Oo and Bethia Su, partners, while the other five are junior associates. Yuan's old role at KhattarWong was assumed by Yoong Nim Chor.

Principal Real Estate Investors, the real estate investment arm of US-headquartered Principal Global Investors, appointed two portfolio managers to its Singapore arm. Shern-Ling Koh and Julian Mittag have take the responsibility for identifying investment opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. Koh previously served as chief executive and chief investment officer at OSK International Asset Management, while Mittag joined from SEB Asset Management, where he was an Asia real estate securities portfolio manager.

UK-listed Aberdeen Asset Management promoted its Australian executive, Victor Rodriguez, to lead its Asia-Pacific fixed income business. Rodriguez succeeds Anthony Michel, who leaves the firm after 18 years. He reports functionally to Brad Crombie, global head of fixed income, and geographically to Hugh Young, managing director for Asia-Pacific. His old role will be taken over by Nick Bishop, the senior investment manager, while Adam McCabe, current deputy, assumed Bishop's duties.

RBC Wealth Management in Asia added two new positions to its Singapore team. Soh Chye Guan was appointed managing director and market manager, reporting to Grace Barki, the managing director and head of RBC Wealth Management for South East Asia. Also appointed was Leslie Goh as investment counsellor, reporting to Febby Avianto, managing director and market manager for South East Asia.

Singapore wealth management firm CrossInvest "parted ways" with British banker Anton Casey after the executive made derisive comments about the Singaporean locals. In Casey's posts on his social media page, he referred to locals as "poor people" and used "the stench of public transport" to describe commuting on the metro. CrossInvest issued a statement saying it does not condone the offending comments. Media reports say Casey has already fled to Australia.

M&G Real Estate, the real estate fund management arm of UK-based M&G created a new acquisitions post in Singapore and named Ng Chiang Ling to the role. Ng was previously the managing director within the merchant banking division of Goldman Sachs. In her new post, she is responsible for the business's real estate acquisition activities in the city-state, Hong Kong and Australia.

North America

Fieldpoint Private named Timothy Tully as its new chairman of the board, succeeding Daniel Donahue, who retired.

Donahue, who has been chairman since co-founding Fieldpoint in 2008, will continue to serve as a member of the board of directors.

Tully is managing partner of Tully Capital Partners and Tully Investment Fund, which are private investment partnerships. He has been a Fieldpoint Private director since 2012, leading the board's compensation committee, as well as serving on its asset and liability committee and loan committee.

BNY Mellon hired James Horvath as senior director for business development, responsible for the firm’s non-profit wealth management practice in New York.

Reporting to managing director Katia Friend, Horvath steps into a newly-created position that is part of BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s previously-announced intention to grow its sales force by 50 per cent by year-end 2014.

Horvath was previously a senior vice president at Atlantic Asset Management, responsible for marketing alternative investments to institutional investors. Before that, he was managing director at Commonfund, serving non-profit organizations. Earlier in his career, he was a consultant to financial advisors targeting institutions in the non-profit and pension markets.

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co, the brokerage firm, appointed Michael O’Keeffe as a managing director of investments in Florham Park, NJ. O’Keeffe will partner with managing directors Michael Sullivan and Josh Bledsoe.

O’Keeffe’s past experience includes serving as chief investment officer for Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and CIO/head of Wilshire Funds Management Group at Wilshire Associates, the global advisory firm specializing in investment products, consulting services and technology solutions.

New York-headquartered Tiedemann Wealth Management added Robert Hormats - former Under Secretary of State for economic growth, energy and the environment – to its investment committee.

Hormats – currently vice chairman of New York City-based international consulting firm Kissinger Associates - will advise Tiedemann on policy, economic and investment issues.

Before joining Kissinger Associates in 2013, Hormats served as Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Environmental Affairs from 2009 to 2013. Other roles in government he has held include Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs; Ambassador and Deputy US Trade Representative; Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs; and senior staff member for international economic affairs on the National Security Council. Hormats also served for 25 years as vice chairman of Goldman Sachs, International.

Fieldpoint Private, the wealth advisory and private banking firm serving ultra high net worth families and institutions, appointed Nicole Bonica as a managing director and senior advisor in New York City.

Bonica was latterly a managing director at Sterling Bank, having previously been a senior private banker with Capital One and its predecessor, North Fork Bank.

Palo Alto, CA-based wealth management firm Sand Hill Global Advisors appointed its president and chief investment officer, Brian Dombkowski, as chief executive.

Jane Williams, Sand Hill's co-founder and former CEO, will become chairman.

Over the past two decades, Dombkowski has held a variety of senior investment and operational leadership roles throughout the asset management industry.

In his role as CEO and CIO of Sand Hill Global Advisors, he provides overall strategic direction and leadership to the investment management, client services, finance and operations groups.

Before joining the firm, he was co-CIO of Stafford Capital Management, where he actively managed funds for a client base comprising high net worth individuals, family offices and institutional investors.

UBS Wealth Management Americas hired Paul Allen as head of corporate business development within its equity plan advisory services group.

Allen will lead a sales team that will work with UBS financial advisors who specialize in the equity compensation space.

A 30-year veteran of the equity compensation industry, Allen has served as a consultant to UBS for the past year and has held leadership positions at a number of financial services firms including Fidelity Investments, Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney.

Industry veteran Steve Lockshin joined Carson Wealth Management Group’s executive board to help grow the firm's three companies: Carson Wealth, Peak Advisor Alliance and Carson Institutional Alliance.

Lockshin, founder and chairman of Convergent Wealth Advisors, was elected to the executive board at the group's most recent meeting.

Morgan Stanley appointed Erskine Bowles as lead director of the New York-listed firm’s board of directors, taking over from C Robert Kidder.

Bowles has served as a Morgan Stanley director since December 2005 and as chair of the compensation, management development and succession committee since 2010. He was named co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform in 2010, and served as president of The University of North Carolina from 2006 through 2010.

Additionally, Bowles has been a senior advisor to private investment firm Carousel Capital since September 2001, and served as a managing director from March 1999 to September 2001. Between 1999 and 2001, he was a general partner of Forstmann Little & Co, a private investment firm.

Fusion Family Wealth hired Fred Gold, a former partner at Arthur Andersen, as head of business development for Metro New York.

With offices in New York City and Long Island, Fusion Family Wealth is an investment management firm founded last year by former UBS senior vice president Jonathan Blau. Gold will be based in Long Island and will report to Blau.

Gold spent 32 years at Arthur Andersen, serving as partner-in-charge of the Metro New York enterprise group audit division and partner-in-charge of Andersen’s audit division in the Long Island office.

Gold spent his first 13 years at the firm as a member of the small business audit division in New York. He has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of CPAs since 1972.

Baird promoted Jarrett Kovics, previously director of the Texas market, to regional director (Western), based in Dallas.

Kovics will oversee Baird’s wealth management offices in the Western region, which includes Texas, Arizona, Oregon and California. He joined Baird in 2010 as branch manager of the Dallas wealth management office.

Kovics started his career as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley before moving to Citi Smith Barney. At Smith Barney, he spent 11 years in numerous roles, including assistant branch manager of the private client/institutional headquarters office in New York and complex manager of the global wealth management offices in Hawaii.

Kinetic Partners, an advisor to the global financial services industry, added Todd Kaplan to its New York office as an associate director within the regulatory compliance practice.

Kaplan will work alongside Kinetic Partners’ compliance team and provide regulatory compliance services to hedge fund and private equity firms.

A licensed attorney in the state of New York with over seven years of investment management experience, Kaplan joins Kinetic Partners from Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen, where he was an associate in the hedge fund group.

There, Kaplan advised clients on various aspects of their businesses, covering areas including complex regulatory and compliance issues such as insider trading and protection of personal data. Before that, Kaplan was an investment management attorney at Schulte Roth & Zabel.

RBC Wealth Management looked across the Atlantic for a new trust director for its Grand Cayman branch, reporting to Brian Taylor, head of trust management, Caribbean.

Moving from Farrer & Co in London, Alison Parker left her international private client associate role to help direct RBC Wealth Management’s Caribbean Trust.

Parker will work with RBC’s trust officers and managers to provide fiduciary solutions to international high net worth clients.

A new managing director for strategic relationships was named by asset management company Whitebox Advisors.

Based in the New York/Tri-State area, John Olstein will be responsible for building strategic relationships for the firm’s global clients.

Olstein joined from Waterstone Capital Management, where he was in charge of global and sales and investor relations as director for business development.

Ronald O’Hanley, head of asset management at Boston, MA-based Fidelity Investments, is stepping down after less than four years in the role.

Confirming O’Hanley’s departure, a note to employees from president Abigail Johnson revealed that Fidelity plans to replace O’Hanley with an internal successor, who will be named in the coming weeks. O’Hanley, in a separate memo, said he plans to spend more time with his family and non-profit organizations, before considering a new professional challenge.

O’Hanley has already begun working with the CEO of Fidelity’s family office, Geoff von Kuhn, to transition the corporate services functions. The memos added that O’Hanley will depart the firm by the end of February.

O’Hanley joined Fidelity in 2010 from Bank of New York Mellon, where he also oversaw money management. He was hired at a time when Fidelity was struggling to recover from the 2008 financial crisis and investors fled the firm’s actively managed stock funds.

INTECH Investment Management, the global investment manager, created a new senior role as the firm expands its client services team.

Richard Yasenchak became the first client portfolio manager for the Florida-based firm.

Yasenchak will work with INTECH's client and consultation relations teams as an investment expert. He will also be involved with sales presentations and other campaigns, both in the US and globally.

Moving from opposite ends of the country, Yasenchak left Russell Investments after eight years based in Seattle, WA, to join INTECH in West Palm Beach, FL. He served as US equity portfolio manager at Russell Investments, overseeing approximately $5 billion.

A new president and chief investment officer was appointed at VisionQuest Wealth Management in Raleigh, NC.

Steven Laska will lead the firm's acquisition strategy, as VisionQuest gears up to acquire nearly $1 billion in assets under management through M&A activity.

He will also take charge of the firm’s asset management business, and both its private and public investment strategies.

Laska joined from Gerstein Fisher in Florida, where he was director of global advisor distribution for the firm's mutual funds and separate accounts. Prior to entering the financial world, Laska served in the US Army as an armor officer during the first Gulf War.

Dynasty Financial Partners appointed Ronald Sallet as senior vice president of network development, reporting to Shirl Penney, president and chief executive.

Sallet will be responsible for growing Dynasty's network of independent advisory firms and will target RIAs, large-scale IBD reps and captive employee advisors who are looking to explore independence.

He joined from Wells Fargo's independent channel, FiNet, where he was a managing director, co-leading the branch development and marketing team.

Prior to Wells Fargo, he worked at Citigroup/Smith Barney for 14 years, where he was senior vice president and director of financial services groups in NYC at Citigroup Global Markets. Before this, he worked in various roles including financial advisor, national training officer, assistant branch manager and branch office manager.

The drive for internal succession is ripe at a wealth management firm in San Rafael, CA, as Private Ocean expanded its equity ownership.

The Marin County-based firm made four of its leaders new equity owners: Justin Hult, director of investment operations and chief compliance officer, as well as advisors Sarah Wotherspoon, Alex Gangl and Charles Pyfer.

RBC Wealth Management recruited The Kerr Wealth Management Group, which works with business owners, in San Antonio, TX.

The Kerr Wealth Management Group helps business owners with succession planning and investment management, and also specializes in company-sponsored retirement plans.

Kelly Kerr has more than 14 years of industry experience and is latterly of UBS. Kerr has assets under management of more than $115 million, with $850,000 in production. Joining Kerr is Audra Kerr, an investment associate with seven years of industry experience.

Milford, CT-based Beirne Wealth Consulting, a Focus Financial Partners firm, hired two former Allentown, PA-based Morgan Stanley advisors: Christopher Englebert and Daniel Reitz.

This is the third office that BWC has opened in two years. The firm has expanded from seven to 19 employees and now has eight financial advisors. It has satellite offices in Allentown and Miami.

Elizabeth Garnto and Jamie Englebert joined Englebert and Reitz at BWC to provide consulting services on defined benefit public pensions and defined contributions, as well as retirement, educational, tax and estate planning issues.

A former Olympian was appointed as managing partner of Hemenway & Barnes in Boston, MA.

Kurt Somerville, who previously rowed for the US team, will continue to serve clients in the firm’s private client group and as a professional fiduciary. He has advised high net clients for over 30 years, serving as both a lawyer and a trustee.

Specializing in the trust and estates, Somerville has a number of relations with charitable trusts, foundations and private family trust complexes. This includes serving as a co-trustee of Jane's Trust, a charitable trust in New England.

Chief executive Mohamed El-Erian is leaving Pacific Investment Management Company, the US-based asset management subsidiary of Allianz, as the firm reorganizes its leadership structure.

El-Erian, chief executive and co-chief investment officer of PIMCO, has resigned from his functions effective end-March and will leave the firm at the same time. He will stay on the international executive committee of parent company Allianz and will advise the firm’s board on global economic and policy issues. In his new role, El-Erian will report directly to Michael Diekmann, CEO of Allianz SE.

William Gross, founder of PIMCO, will remain chief investment officer, while managing directors Andrew Balls and Daniel Ivascyn will help lead the firm’s portfolio management in their new roles as deputy chief investment officers.

PIMCO also elected Douglas Hodge, managing director and currently chief operating officer of PIMCO, as CEO and Jay Jacobs, managing director and currently global head of talent management, as president. In addition, Craig Dawson, managing director and currently head of PIMCO Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, will assume the position as head of strategic business management.

UBS Wealth management Americas recruited The Apex Group – with $500 million in assets under management - from Morgan Stanley in Atlanta, GA.

The team consists of Adam Thomas, Mike Hennessy, Araya Mesfin, Brandon Brown, Jansen Bailey and Julie Bailey.

Thomas, executive director and senior portfolio management director, has been a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney since 1999, while Hennessy, also executive director and senior portfolio management director, has been a financial advisor with the firm since 2006.

Mesfin, vice president and portfolio management director, has been a member of Morgan Stanley’s Pacesetter’s Club for 2010, 2011 and 2012. Mesfin is a member of the Atlanta Association of Corporate Growth.

Brown, second vice president and senior portfolio manager, has also been a member of Morgan Stanley’s Pacesetter’s Club for 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Jansen Bailey, a chartered retirement planning counselor and chartered retirement plans specialist, has been in the financial services industry for over nine years.

Lastly, Julie Bailey serves as a financial advisor, portfolio manager and chartered retirement planning counselor.

Support staff for the group include Lynn Pattison, senior client service associate; Jeannine Brookman, registered client service associate; Elle Pineda, client service associate; and Louise McMahon, registered client service associate.

US Bank Wealth Management hired Hank Zewald as a wealth management consultant for The Private Client Reserve of US Bank in Portland, OR, and named John Paul Sweeney as a senior trust officer in Chicago, IL.

Zewald has over 25 years of experience with a background as a certified public accountant, financial services professional, managing principal and institutional business consultant. For over 18 years he ran his consulting business, Quantum Financial Partners, working with large financial services organizations, independent brokers and registered investment advisors.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, Sweeney will provide administration for trusts of high net worth clients, including the coordination of financial, tax, investment and legal services. Sweeney was latterly a managing director and senior trust officer with the Private Bank and Trust Company. He has also worked at Chicago Trust Company and Northern Trust Company.

Manulife Asset Management appointed Gary Li as a managing director and portfolio manager in Boston, MA, responsible for derivatives portfolios.

Li reports to Barry Evans, president of asset management in North America and chief investment officer of asset allocation.

Li helps manage some $34 billion in John Hancock wealth management portfolios, as well as developing and managing synthetic asset exposures inside certain asset allocation portfolios. He also provides advisory and risk support to the firm's equity and fixed income portfolio managers with respect to their derivative positions.

Previously, Li worked at MetLife Insurance Corporation as an assistant vice president and manager of derivatives risk management. Before that, he was director of risk management and asset allocation for the South Carolina Retirement Investment Commission. Earlier still, he was director of derivatives and alternative strategies for Wells Fargo Capital Management.

First American Trust, which provides investment management, trust and wealth planning services to high net worth individuals, families and foundations, appointed Eric McMullen as executive vice president and chief fiduciary officer.

McMullen, who has more than two decades of wealth management and investment experience, will oversee the firm's wealth management and trust activities. He will also help lead First American Trust’s growth efforts as it expands in the West.

McMullen previously held executive management roles in the financial services sector, primarily in the Midwest. Past positions include managing director of the trust and wealth management division of a publicly-traded bank in Chicago, IL, and president of a Midwest-based broker-dealer.

BBVA Compass appointed a new market executive of trust and wealth management in San Antonio, TX.

Mary Mahlie, who serves as the bank’s wealth management market executive in Beaumont, Corpus Christi and College Station, TX, will continue to oversee operations in the former two cities.

Northern Trust expanded its alternatives group with two hires focused on investment opportunities in venture capital and secondary markets for private equity.

James Hart, who is responsible for sourcing and analyzing venture capital investment opportunities in the US and Asia, joined Northern Trust from Greenspring Associates, a global venture capital fund-of-funds based in Baltimore, MD.

Adam Freda, who focuses on sourcing, valuing and executing private equity and venture capital transactions on the secondary market, was previously at Wind Point Partners, a middle-market leveraged buyout fund based in Chicago, IL.

Brown Advisory, an independent investment management firm with some $46 billion in client assets, hired Edward Tune as a portfolio manager and partner in North Carolina.

Tune will advise private clients, non-profits and other institutions, while working to expand Brown Advisory's business in the Carolinas and throughout the US.

Tune joined Brown Advisory after 14 years at Brown Brothers Harriman, where he was a managing director and chief operating officer/chief financial officer for the firm's wealth management business.

Prior to that role, he headed BBH's Chicago, IL, wealth management office in addition to advising private clients and families. Before joining BBH, he served private clients at Stein Roe & Farnham in Chicago.

Ogier, the international legal and fiduciary firm, added Shameer Jasani as a partner within the Cayman Islands corporate and funds team, while naming Ray Ng as partner and head of litigation for the British Virgin Islands and Asia.

Jasani joined Ogier in 2007 from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Taylor Wessing in London. Jasani’s practice is focused on investment funds, including hedge funds, funds-of-funds and private equity funds.

He advises investment managers on all aspects of their structuring, formation and ongoing operational requirements, as well as regularly advising strategic and seed investors.

Ng has detailed experience in the area of complex multi-jurisdictional commercial disputes relating to shareholder rights, directors' duties, corporate governance, cross-border restructuring and insolvency, trusts and commercial fraud.

Peapack-Gladstone Bank appointed Gary Todd Pancoast as a senior managing director of wealth.

The move followed the retirement of Craig Spengeman, president and chief investment officer of Peapack-Gladstone Bank Trust & Investments, earlier in January. John Babcock was brought in shortly after as a senior executive vice president and president of private wealth management, effective March 10, 2014.

Pancoast has 20 years of experience in the wealth management industry, with expertise in portfolio management, client acquisition, estate planning and private banking.

Since 2004, he has held various roles at US Trust/Bank of America Private Wealth Management, directing teams focused on client development strategies, portfolio management, asset allocation, tax and estate planning, and private banking services.

Toronto-listed Canaccord Genuity Group appointed Stuart Raftus as president of its wealth management arm in Canada.

Raftus, who has held senior roles at a raft of companies, took up the post at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management in Canada.

Additionally, John Rothwell was the previous president at the wealth management business. He left the business.

Rockville, MD-based Highline Wealth Management, the $1.3 billion RIA, hired Aviva Pinto and Micheal Moritary from OpenArc and Morgan Stanley respectively.

Pinto, who joined in New York City, has over 25 years of experience as a financial advisor, while Moriarty, who stepped into the Rockville, MD, office, has over 20 years of experience as a financial advisor. Together, they manage around $2 million in client assets.

Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company, the Irvine, CA-based fund of hedge funds investment firm, promoted Ronan Cosgrave, Putri Pascualy, Anne Gaelle Pouille and Jeffrey Willardson to partner.

All four appointments were in Pacific’s Irvine office and brought the total number of active partners at PAAMCO to 18.

Cosgrave is the sector specialist for convertible bond hedging and joined PAAMCO in 2005, while Pascualy is the senior credit strategist for PAAMCO and joined the firm in 2006.

Pouille is the portfolio manager for PAAMCO’s Pacific Corporate Opportunities commingled fund and joined PAAMCO in 2007. Before this she was at UBS.

Willardson joined the firm in 2007 and is a portfolio manager within the portfolio solutions group, as well as a member of the portfolio construction group.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management opened its doors in San Diego, CA, and made three appointments in Chicago, IL.

The new Del Mar office is headed by Paul Thiel, senior director for business development, who reports to Southern California regional president Shannon Kennedy. The move was the latest step in the firm’s expansion in Southern California, having made 25 key hires serving Los Angeles and Orange and San Diego Counties in 2013.

Thiel said the San Diego office represents one of the top wealth markets in the US and is one of the fastest-growing regions for the business. BNY Mellon has six wealth management staff dedicated to San Diego County and the firm plans to hire an additional private banker this year.

The firm appointed Neil Kohler and Michael Castronovo as mortgage bankers in Chicago, while also naming Jennifer Lucas as senior director for business development – a newly-created role – there.

The three appointments were part of a “robust local hiring effort” that has more than doubled the size of BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s Chicago staff over the past two years.

Lucas was latterly a senior vice president at the Chicago office of US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, where she had business development, relationship management and team leadership responsibilities. Prior to that, she served for six years at BoA in a different role within its derivatives group. In her new role she will report to regional president Michael DiMedio.

Both mortgage banker appointees report to managing director Erin Gorman, who is head of the firm’s national mortgage sales division.

Kohler, who has 23 years of experience in financial services, was for nearly four years vice president and a private banker with Morgan Stanley. There, he provided residential mortgage and other loan products to financial advisors and their high net worth clients. Prior to that, he served as a senior mortgage consultant in originating and refinancing mortgages with Wintrust Mortgage.

Castronovo has 29 years of experience in financial services, and at two different time periods served as a sales manager with Wells Fargo Private Mortgage Banking for a total of 13 years. In his most recent tenure there, he helped rebuild the Chicago private mortgage banking office. Between 2006 and 2008, he was a private mortgage banker responsible for establishing a new office in Lake Forest for PERL Mortgage.

Nicole Cost joined Convergent Wealth Advisors as a managing director in New York.

Prior to joining Convergent, Cost was a managing director at Evercore Wealth Management, where she managed several hundred million dollars in client assets for some 62 high net worth relationships.

Atlas Private Wealth Management, a Williamstown, MA-based Focus Financial Partners firm, hired two wealth advisors in Albany, NY.

Michael Hickey and Donald Carman are latterly of Albany Financial Planners, where they spent the past 30 years. Atlas manages approximately $1 billion in client assets and offers wealth management, financial planning, investment management and tax services across the US.

Hickey will serve as executive vice president, a member of the Atlas investment committee and managing director of the Albany office. He has over 30 years of wealth counseling experience, particularly with clients who have received sudden wealth from an inheritance, legal settlement, lottery winnings or sale of a substantial asset, for example.

Meanwhile, Carman will serve as senior vice president and director of tax and financial planning. He has around 30 years of experience in tax preparation services for individuals, small businesses, estates and trusts. Carman specializes in retirement plan allocations, long-term care costs and education funding needs.

GrizzlyRock Capital, an alternative asset management firm which specializes in the credit and equity markets, appointed Chris Ricciardi as managing partner and head of business development, and Doug Laux as chief financial officer.

Ricciardi has worked in the alternative investment space for around eight years and was latterly director of strategic relationships at Altegris Investments. There, he distributed private and public investment solutions to investors, wealth managers, banks and financial services platforms.

Laux has detailed knowledge of private and public companies, balance sheet and operational restructuring, initial public offerings, bankruptcy situations and mergers and acquisitions. He spent 20 years at Ernst & Young in Chicago, IL, where he was a partner for nine years.

Canada’s Dundee Goodman Private Wealth, a division of Dundee Securities, bolstered its wealth management business with the addition of 60 investment advisors – collectively managing $2 billion - and their related staff from wealth manager Richardson GMP. The addition of 60 people more than doubled the firm's roster of advisors.

Geneos Wealth Management, a Denver, CO-based broker-dealer, appointed its former senior vice president of recruiting and business development, Ryan Diachok, as its new president.

Russell Diachok, who served as the firm’s president and chief executive, remained as CEO and is involved in all strategic decisions while handing over the day-to-day operations of the firm to his successor.

Although stepping back from some in-office functions, Russell will spend more time meeting face-to-face with Geneos advisors at their home offices.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management tapped the upcoming millionaire markets of Arizona and Nevada by hiring two new staff in those states.

Both latterly of Wells Fargo’s Private Bank, David Dasari and Chad Maze joined BNY Mellon Wealth Management's Western market division.

Dasari will serve as senior portfolio manager, while Maze will lead business development efforts.

Raymond James hired financial advisors S Benjamin Weiner, Michael Hlavek, Duke Marsh and Daniel Iosue - the independent Winter Park Wealth Group - in Winter Park, FL.

The group is latterly of Morgan Stanley, where they managed over $550 million in client assets and had annual fees and commissions of over $2.3 million. The team focuses on financial planning and wealth management.

Weiner began his financial services career with Shearson Lehman/American Express as an options strategist in the commodities department. He became a financial advisor in 1986 and remained with the firm through the various name changes.

Hlavek began his career as an analyst for Smith Barney in Atlanta, responsible for money manager research and analysis. He moved to Winter Park in 2001 as a financial advisor with Smith Barney to become a partner with Weiner.

Marsh, meanwhile, began his advisory career in 1977 with Merrill Lynch, transitioning to Shearson/American Express two years later and then spending over 33 years with the same firm as it merged into Morgan Stanley. Marsh became a partner with Weiner and Hlavek in 2009.

Lastly, Iosue began his financial services career in 2011 with Morgan Stanley in Winter Park. Iosue formally became a partner with Weiner, Hlavek and Marsh as they all transitioned to the Winter Park Wealth Group.

Independent wealth advisory firm Snowden Capital Advisors appointed Caesar Cepeda as a vice president in Pasadena, CA.

The addition of Cepeda, who has spent the past 26 years as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, came after a growth capital investment from private equity fund Estancia Capital Partners in November.

The profits from Estancia’s investment were also put towards the hiring of vice presidents in New York, Connecticut and other target markets.

Houston, TX-based wealth management firm Kanaly Trust named Drew Kanaly – the son of Deane Kanaly, who founded the firm in 1975 - as president.

Kanaly will oversee all client service and business development activities firm-wide while maintaining his existing duties as chairman of the board.

Meanwhile, Jeff Kanaly will continue to serve as vice chairman and chief financial officer, working with the firm’s CEO, Bill Rankin, on a number of strategic initiatives.

LPL Financial, the US independent broker-dealer, RIA custodian and wholly-owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings, added Brookfield, WI-based Granite Financial Group as an independent RIA.

Granite Financial Group is led by financial advisors Ellen Duhamel and Thomas Dornoff, who oversee some $130 million in client advisory and brokerage assets as of December 18, 2013.

The pair previously spent 26 and 22 years respectively at other firms in the wirehouse space.

New York-headquartered Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the non-profit organization, added four members to its board of directors.

The appointees include: writer and historian Barbara Bellows Rockefeller; Peter Rockefeller, a managing director of G2 Investment Group; Wendy Gordon, co-founder and chief executive of 3P Partners; and Sarah Teacher, a consultant at Sancroft International.

The New York-headquartered financial law firm Richards Kibbe & Orbe made Jennifer Grady and Craig Newman managing partners of the firm. They succeeded Kenneth Werner who has served as managing partner for the past four years.

Grady joined RK&O in 2004 and is a partner within the firm’s corporate group, where she has represented banks, broker-dealers, funds and other financial institutions in connection with transactions in the derivatives, distressed debt and claims trading markets. She has also advised trade organizations and financial institutions on regulatory changes affecting loan-based derivative transactions. In addition, Grady is a member of the firm’s executive committee.

As a partner in the firm’s litigation group, Newman joined RK&O in 2007 to represent global companies with an emphasis on complex corporate and business litigation, cyber-security and regulatory matters. Newman is also a member of the firm’s executive committee.

Homrich Berg named William Bolen, who helps lead the firm's family office practice and marketing efforts, as a principal.

Bolen works in the areas of investment strategy and alternative investments, which involves writing economic and investment commentaries for the firm and speaking regularly about these topics.

Bolen joined Homrich Berg in 2009 as a director, having previously served as chief financial officer of the Terwilliger Family Office and as president/chief operating officer of the Atlanta Dream WNBA sports franchise.

He started his career as a manager at McKinsey & Company's Atlanta, GA, office before co-founding The DaVinci Group, a strategy and marketing consulting firm.

Lisa Hudson joined People's United Bank Wealth Management as a senior private banker in Boston, MA.

Hudson – most recently a SVP in commercial banking at Citibank in Boston - is charged with expanding the firm's private banking business in the Boston Metropolitan area.

Prior to her Citibank role, Hudson was a regional director in New England at Alliantgroup, responsible for working with company owners and executives on the subject of tax regulations. She has also worked at Keybank in Boston as vice president in the middle-market commercial group, and before that was vice president and head of the financial institutions group at Credit Lyonnais in Boston.

OppenheimerFunds named Mary Ann Picciotto as its new chief compliance officer to succeed Mark Vandehey, who is retiring after 31 years at the firm.

Picciotto will be responsible for all aspects of regulatory compliance for the firm’s five affiliated investment advisors in addition to its three commodity pool operators and advisors, two transfer agents, broker-dealer, and state-chartered trust company.

Based in New York, she will provide compliance services to over 100 mutual funds and dozens of institutional accounts. She will oversee some 30 compliance professionals in three US locations, reporting to Ari Gabinet, general counsel.

Picciotto previously worked at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, where she most recently served as global head of compliance and chief compliance officer for the Morgan Stanley funds. Before that, she worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers on the assurance and business advisory services team in the investment management services division. Picciotto’s appointment will be effective in the first quarter of 2014.

Deepak Sharma, who has been chairman of the private bank at Citigroup since 2009, has decided to retire from the US-listed banking firm at the end of April this year, capping 38 years at the same firm.

Sharma, whose almost-four decades of work for the same firm sets him apart from many peers in the revolving-door culture of some financial institutions, started his career in 1976 as a Citi management associate in India.

He has held management positions within operations and technology, treasury, strategic planning, electronic banking and private bank and investment management.

His leadership positions include serving as CEO of Citi’s Global Wealth Management-International business, head of Citi Smith Barney, and as chairman of the private bank. Prior to his current position in Singapore, he worked in Korea, Saudi Arabia, the US and Switzerland.

International law firm McDermott Will & Emery named Laurelle Gutierrez as a Silicon Valley-based partner within the firm’s private client group.

Gutierrez designs and implements tax planning and wealth transfer strategies while working to minimize the impact of estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes.

She advises on a range of domestic and multi-national estate planning issues and was latterly a director at a California-based law firm.

Gutierrez also prepares federal gift tax returns and federal estate tax returns, and advises trustees and executors with complex probate and trust administrations.

BNY Mellon, which is in the throes of a previously-announced recruitment drive, hired Todd Carlton as regional president to lead the firm’s wealth management business in Dallas and the state of Texas.

This is a newly-created role in which Carlton, based in Dallas, will report to David Emmes, president of BNY Mellon Wealth Management's US Western market.

Carlton was latterly the Texas-area wealth executive at Regions Private Wealth Management in Dallas. Previously, he was vice president of private client services at First Horizon Bank and earlier in his career provided personal financial services at JP Morgan Chase. He has also served as a financial advisor with UBS Paine Webber.

RBC Wealth Management appointed Tim Houghton to the newly-created role as head of business development for the Caribbean and British Isles.

Based in Jersey, Houghton will develop and lead a consolidated business development function across the Channel Islands, UK and Caribbean. He will distribute strategies across the firm’s key target markets, while serving the “key facilitator” between the business’ manufacturing solutions and distribution activities.

Houghton joined the British Isles and Caribbean operating committee, reporting to Stuart Rutledge, chief executive of RBC Wealth Management for the British Isles and Caribbean.

Houghton, who joined RBC in 1999, has served as head of offshore private client wealth management since 2011. In this role, he oversaw the distribution teams in Jersey and Dubai, as well as the banking platform in the British Isles.

The international law firm Withers appointed two partners with experience in tax controversy, criminal tax law and tax litigation from Hass & Hecht in New York and New Haven, CT.

David Moise joined in New York, while Seth Cohen will work out of the New Haven office.

Moise has over 25 years of experience in the tax procedure and controversy area. His practice focuses on federal, state and local tax examinations and appeals, tax court litigation and voluntary disclosure agreements.

He also has experience in tax collection procedures, including tax liens and levies, as well as collection administrative appeals, installment agreements and offers in compromise.  Moise is admitted to practice law in New York and before the US Tax Court.

Cohen also has extensive experience representing clients in tax controversies, including tax examinations and appeals, criminal tax matters, tax litigation and voluntary disclosure agreements.

He has worked in the area of tax collection defense, including collection administrative appeals, installment agreements and offers in compromise. Cohen is admitted to practice law in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, and before the US Tax Court.

The international law firm Withers, which is known as Withers Bergman in the US, named trusts and estates attorney Louis Mezzullo as a consulting partner.

Mezzullo, a US-based estate planning and business succession planning attorney, has written extensively on taxation, estate and business succession planning, and employee benefits issues.

Based in Rancho Santa Fe, CA, Mezzullo will advise Withers' national and international clients as well as help expand the firm’s service to clients in California.

Mezzullo is the immediate past president of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, where he has also served as chair of the business planning, employee benefits in estate planning and elder law committees, and will chair the organization’s nominating committee this year.

He is also a former chair of the American College of Tax Counsel; current chair of the chapter 14 subcommittee of the estate and gift taxes committee of the American Bar Association section of taxation; former vice-chair of publications of the ABA section of taxation; and past chair of the ABA section of real property, trust and estate law.

Six financial advisors joined Raymond James & Associates, the traditional employee broker-dealer of Raymond James Financial, representing a combined $308 million in client assets under management and almost $4 million in annual fees and commissions.

They joined branches in Portland, OR, St Louis, MO, and Dallas, TX, said Tash Elwyn, president of RJA’s Private Client Group.

Joining the firm in Portland from Morgan Stanley was the team of Saunders Kelly Acheson Wealth Management. The team is made up of Jason Saunders, vice president of investments; Stephanie Kelly, associate vice president of investments; and Kendall Acheson, financial advisor.

Saunders began his career with A G Edwards, where he served as a financial advisor and branch manager until the firm was acquired by Wachovia Securities in 2007.

Kelly worked as a financial advisor at A G Edwards and Morgan Stanley, starting her career in financial services in 2004.

Acheson began his financial services career in 2008 after graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He specializes in helping mid- to late-career professionals, particularly business owners.

Meanwhile, joining the firm in St Louis was senior vice president of investments, Alan Spilker, who joined from Merrill Lynch. He began his career in 1984 with E F Hutton and now specializes in middle-market fixed income business.

Lastly, joining RJA’s Sherry Lane office in Dallas was Anthony Vaccaro and Bill Callis - both senior vice presidents of investments - as well as financial advisor Matt Ferrell. All of them are latterly of Southwest Securities and the team operates as the Advanced Planning Group of Raymond James.

BNY Mellon named Abigail Bensimhon as a senior private banker in the Washington, DC, market.

Bensimhon was latterly a senior commercial loan officer at Capital Bank in Rockville, MD. Prior to that, she was with PNC Bank, where she served as a commercial relationship manager and team leader.

In her new role at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, she reports to managing director Arthur Grugan.

OppenheimerFunds appointed portfolio manager Michelle Borré and her team of three analysts to the global multi-asset group, reporting to Mark Hamilton, CIO Asseat Allocation.

Borré joined OppenheimerFunds in 2003 as a senior research analyst on the value investment team. Prior to joining OppenheimerFunds, Borré held various positions at J&W Seligman, including managing director and and partner.

UK-listed Barclays appointed Stephen Thieke, a former senior official at the US Federal Reserve and a divisional head at JP Morgan, as a non-executive director.

Thieke has four decades of experience in financial services, both in regulation and investment banking.

Thieke worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for 20 years, where he held several senior positions in credit and capital market operations and banking supervision. He became a non-executive director at the UK’s Financial Services Authority, the former financial regulator now replaced by the Financial Conduct Authority.

He has also held senior roles in investment banking and risk management with JP Morgan, where he spent ten years. Thieke was head of the bank’s fixed income division, co-head of global markets, president and chairman of JP Morgan Securities, and head of the corporate risk management group, retiring from JP Morgan in 1999.

He has spent seven years as a director of Risk Metrics Group, where latterly he served as chairman of the board, and nine years on the board of PNC Financial Services Corp.

Platinum Wealth Solutions, of Rosemont, CA, hired Ray Ortega as director to work with existing advisors as well as bringing on board new ones.

Ortega joined Platinum Wealth Solutions having spent eight years in the financial services industry, four of which he worked as an advisor and the other four in firm management.

Synovus, the Columbus, GA-based financial services company, named Katherine Dunlevie as managing director of Synovus Family Asset Management.

Dunlevie joined FAM in 2004 after two years in banking with Columbus Bank and Trust, a division of Synovus Bank.

Atlanta, GA-based Angel Oak Capital Advisors, an SEC-registered fixed income investment firm, appointed Chuck Baldiswieler as president to focus on strategic initiatives for the firm.

Baldiswieler joined TCW in 1995 and recently served as group managing director, president and chief executive of TCW Funds.