RBC Wealth Management has recruited Thomas Brockley a former UBS banker with over $160 million in assets under management, for its Albany, New York office,

Mr Brockley has been named senior vice president – financial consultant and senior portfolio manager – portfolio focus. Also joining RBC along with Mr Brockley are Andrew Murphy, financial consultant, and Kimberly Bullis-Rauh and Lisa Lewis Santos, who have been appointed senior registered client associates.

RBC has been rapidly expanding its roster of bankers in the US over the past year, hiring over 320 advisors, and the firm is still looking to add staff. Last month John Taft, the head of RBC's US wealth management business, told Reuters that his firm will be focusing on attracting break-away brokers and their clients now that the tremendous churn stemming from the financial crisis has begun to subside.

"The crisis-driven flight of talent has settled down. In terms of the movement of wirehouse advisors to the independent channel, we think we're at the beginning of that trend, not the end," Mr Taft was quoted as having said.

RBC agreed last autumn to buy JPMorgan Chase's registered investment advisor services business to gain from what Mr Taft sees as a continuing wave of departures.

"Some of the very best advisors in the industry moved from their wirehouse platform to our platform. Anything you hear about those being lower-end brokers is, in our experience, not accurate. The quality of advisors who were moving was extraordinary," said Mr Taft.