Phew! March proved to be a busy month for the reporting team at this news service with a mass of comings and goings at wealth managers across a number of regions.

UK moves
Brown Shipley chief executive Ian Sackfield stepped down after spending more than eight years at the helm. Sackfield joined the wealth manager and private bank in 1987 and was appointed as a director in September 2001. In 2008, he became head of private banking before taking the reins of the Brown Shipley group in January 2009. 
Brown Shipley named former Coutts man Richard Stubbs as head of lending, a new London-based role. Stubbs was previously an executive director at Coutts.
RWC Partners expanded its equity income team with the hire of James Kellett as a research analyst. Kellett joined from Orbis Investment Advisory, which he joined in 2013 as an investment analyst.

Harbottle & Lewis, the UK-based law firm, hired the family team of Lee & Thompson, a rival firm in the media and entertainment space. Partners Catherine Bedford, Nicholas Westley and Mark Irving, together with their associates, joined the firm. Bedford, who founded the family group at Lee & Thompson, is described by Chambers & Partners as "excellent in every way" and she heads up the enlarged family team at Harbottle & Lewis. Prior to joining Lee & Thompson, Westley practised at Queen Elizabeth Building and is described as "smart and sharp" by the leading legal directories.

European Wealth appointed Hugo Evans as head of finance. Evans joined the UK-based firm from Ocean Dial Asset Management, where he worked as an associate director and was responsible for finance, operations and compliance. Prior to that, he was an accountant at Grant Thornton.

The firm also appointed two new investment managers, Andrew Harris and Martin Carey, to its London headquarters. Previously, Harris served as a senior private banker at Duncan Lawrie Private Bank where he was responsible for managing a book of high net worth clients. Prior to that, he worked at Butterfield Private Bank, Vestra Wealth and Barclays Wealth. Carey joined from Plurimi Wealth Solutions in Gibraltar, where he was a senior portfolio manager responsible for business development and investment management. Prior to that, he held senior roles at Nordea, NatWest and Lloyds private banks.
Quilter Cheviot appointed Jonathan Buttress as regional development manager for East Anglia in a bid to strengthen its business development team. Buttress joined the investment manager from Liverpool Victoria, where he spent more than five years working as a retirement consultant.

Fairstone Group, the financial planning firm, brought in Mike Slater as divisional director and member of the executive committee. Based in London, Slater manages the firm's City office as well as work closely with its partner firms across the country. He has 20 years of industry experience working at firms including Zurich, Openwork and Octopus.

Tilney added a financial planner in Bournemouth, as the recently rebranded firm continues its hiring spree. Martin Reed spent three years as a financial planner at Blue Sky Financial Planning, having previously worked at Lorica Advisory Services for 12 years before that.

Ranald Munro was named as general counsel of Lombard International Assurance’s European operations - a new role at the company. Munro leads a team that covers legal, regulatory affairs, risk and compliance functions. He reports to Axel Hörger, European chief executive. Previously, Munro was chief legal officer at the global reinsurer SCOR Global P&C. Earlier, he was a Crown prosecutor in the UK, as well as a senior legal advisor at International Computers and group legal advisor and company secretary at L'Oréal (UK). He also spent over 17 years as European general counsel, company secretary and head of external affairs at Chubb Insurance Company of Europe.

Laurence Boone, the global head of research and investment strategy at AXA Investment Managers, was named global head of multi-asset client solutions and trading and securities finance, taking the reins from Julien Fourtou, who left the company. The new roles for Boone added to her position as chief economist for AXA Group and head of research and investment strategy at AXA IM. Fourtou  decided to leave AXA IM after 17 years with the firm to pursue a new entrepreneurial project, left the company. 

Walker Crips named Clive Bouch as non-executive director to the board. Bouch joined the remuneration committee and nominations committee, as well as chair the audit committee. He is a non-executive director of the Steamship Mutual Underwriting Associations and chairs the audit committees at Invesco UK and Towergate Insurance.

Succession Advisory Service’s non-executive chairman, Ray Pierce, took over as executive chairman following the death of founder and CEO Simon Chamberlain. Pierce joined Succession as chairman in November 2009. He has considerable financial services experience, in both executive and non-executive roles.

Nick Stace was appointed as a non-executive director at the Financial Conduct Authority for an initial three-year term. Stace, currently chief executive of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, has held leadership roles in consumer organisations as deputy CEO of Which? (UK) and CEO of Choice (Australia). Other non-executive roles he has held include as a director of a European consumer affairs organisation as well as at Consumers’ International.

Richard Lewis joined Smith & Williamson to help lead the firm’s restructuring and recovery services team alongside partner Gil Lemon. Lewis spent the previous 14 years at Grant Thornton and before that worked at two “Big Four” accountancy firms in the UK and Grand Cayman.

Forsters, the London-based law firm, added Rosie Schumm as a partner within its family practice. Schumm, who joined from Wedlake Bell, advises wealthy clients on divorce and other financial matters, often involving the use of trusts, as well as offshore assets and family businesses.

Angus Samuels was appointed as non-executive chairman of Nucleus Financial Group, succeeding Paul Bradshaw, who passed away in January. Samuels, who has been a non-executive director at Nucleus since 2006, has over 30 years of experience in the UK financial services industry. He is a former chief executive of Credit Suisse Asset Management; he is currently chairman of Punter Southall Group. He also holds a number of non-executive directorships including PSigma Investment Management and Sanlam UK.

The lead manager of JO Hambro Capital Management’s UK Opportunities fund, John Wood, said he intended to retire from the investment industry in September.  Rachel Reutter and Michael Ulrich, co-managers of the JOHCM UK Opportunities team, assumed lead responsibilities for the fund and all segregated portfolios, with Wood continuing until the end of September to ensure an orderly transition.

The UK's Chartered Insurance Institute appointed Dr Matthew Connell as director of policy and engagement, a newly-created role covering the operations of both the CII and Personal Finance Society. Connell joined from Zurich Insurance, where he most recently acted as head of regulatory developments and policy. Prior to his time with Zurich, Connell served as the chairman of the Investment and Life Insurance Group. As part of the group, he worked to bring investment and insurance practitioners together with policymakers to produce better outcomes for consumers, especially on key EU and UK regulatory initiatives.

Invesco Perpetual appointed Matthew Perowne as co-manager of the firm’s European Smaller Companies Fund alongside lead manager Adrian Bignell. Perowne worked closely with Bignell over the last two years, having been made co-manager of the Invesco Perpetual European Opportunities Fund in December 2015. He joined Invesco Perpetual as a trainee analyst within the European Equities team in 2010, before taking on fund management responsibilities in 2014.

Blick Rothenberg named its tax leader Nilesh Shah as chief executive. He succeeded Bob Rothenberg, who continued as senior partner and took on a new role as ambassador. Shah, who has led Blick Rothenberg's tax practice for 15 years, specialises in advising international businesses regarding their expansion plans.

Hawksmoor, the UK investment management firm, named industry veteran Nick Hodgson as a non-executive board director. Hodgson has around 30 years of experience in marketing and sales at asset and wealth management companies. He was formerly on the investment management board at Smith & Williamson, and prior to his eight-year stint there was a main board director at Framlington. He has also held board-level roles at Rothschild Asset Management and Thornton/Dresdner RCM (now Allianz).

Woodford Investment Management appointed Tessa Thomson as head of third-party relationships. Thomson previously worked at Invesco Perpetual, where Neil Woodford, founder of the eponymous business, made his reputation as an outstanding money manager. Thomson has more than 20 years of industry experience. At Invesco Perpetual she was most recently head of distribution operations.

Mirabaud opened a UK banking branch in London’s Victoria district, joining Swiss peers Pictet and Lombard Odier in deepening a footprint in the capital. The UK branch houses lines of business including asset management, brokerage and corporate finance. The operation is led by Harry Thorburn, reporting to Etienne d’Arenberg. 

Arthur Grigoryants joined RWC Partners as head of investment strategy, a new role at the firm. Grigoryants previously spent 12 years at Stonehage Fleming as head of investments, and most recently served as joint chief investment officer. Before that, he was a consultant at Mercer for three years.

Fairstone Group appointed Simon Bourke as its group development manager. Based in the group's London office, he is responsible for identifying and engaging with suitable businesses across the UK, but particularly focuses on the Southeast, Midlands and Southwest. Bourke works with companies to explore their growth and future sales aims in order to create high value acquisition opportunities for Fairstone Group.

ZEDRA, the trust, corporate and fund services firm, expanded its London-based team with the hire of Bridget Barker as executive director of funds and corporate operations. Barker joined ZEDRA from London law firm Macfarlanes. In total, she has nearly 36 years' experience in legal issues, and has extensive knowledge in the areas of private equity and real estate. During her time at Macfarlanes, she developed and headed its funds group and also led its investment group.

Global Alternatives brought in Brendan Bradley as non-executive chairman as it prepared to launch Prop-X, a cross-border property trading exchange.

Credit Suisse named Christian Berchem as chief executive of its UK private banking business. Berchem joined from Barclays Wealth, where he most recently acted as head of the firm's private bank for London. Prior to his time with Barclays, Berchem spent a nine-year stint with JP Morgan, where he held a number of senior roles that included head of European cash equity sales. Earlier in his career, he also worked at Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and KPMG.

Dermot Courtier was named as chairman of the Legal & General Mastertrust and Legal & General independent governance committee. Courtier is head of group pensions at Kingfisher, as well as secretary to Kingfisher Pension Trustee – roles he retained.

Mark Davies & Associates, a private client tax advisory firm focused on international clients, appointed Priya Dutta as a senior tax manager. Dutta, who is a chartered accountant and chartered advisor, lectures and writes on tax and related subjects.

Zurich-headquartered GAM, the asset manager, recruited Matthew Beesley from Henderson as head of equities. Before his stint at Henderson, where he was head of global equities, Beesley held portfolio manager roles at Trinity Street Asset Management, JP Morgan Asset Management and Mercury Asset Management/Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.
 

Switzerland
EFG International appointed Franco Polloni as head of central Switzerland, Ticino and the Italy region, taking up the reins from Renato Santi, who left after BSI's Swiss business was integrated into the group. Polloni's appointment was subject to regulatory approval. Until his arrival due in August, Thomas Mueller, currently CEO of BSI, managed the central Switzerland, Ticino and Italy region on an interim basis. Previously, Polloni worked at Lugano-based Banca del Ceresio, where he was head of private clients and asset management and a member of the executive board from 2014.

Europe, international, other
Stefan Armbruster, currently global co-head of retail structured products at Deutsche Bank and member of the board of directors of the German Derivatives Association, became head of Vontobel Financial Products Europe in Frankfurt. Armbruster took over from Wolfgang Gerhardt, who stepped down at the end of April after seven years in the role. After graduating in business administration, Armbruster began his career at the beginning of the 1990s at Crédit Lyonnais, before moving on to Swiss Bank Corporation, Morgan Stanley, Commerzbank and ABN Amro Bank.

Ipes, an outsourced services provider to private equity, made two appointments in the UK and Guernsey. Sumindra Bains-Cleary joined the firm as head of commercial finance in London while David Bateman joined as a manager in Guernsey.

Macquarie Investment Management added Gyula Tóth as a senior investment manager within its global multi-asset team. Tóth is based in Vienna and reports to Stefan Löwenthal, chief investment officer of the team. He joins from Munich Re & Ergo Asset Management, where he was an emerging markets fixed income portfolio manager and part of the strategy asset allocation committee. He was previously a managing director at Ithuba Capital and also spent seven years at UniCredit.

North America
Penn Capital Management Company appointed Stacey Kerelska as a research analyst to its investment team. Kerelska joined Penn Capital in 2017. Her primary areas of sector coverage are metals and mining, chemicals, airlines, shipping, and building materials. Prior to Penn Capital, she served as an associate director at UBS, the Swiss bank, focusing on the aerospace and defense, airlines and aircraft leasing. She was also previously a senior research associate at Macquarie Group and held positions at Enso Capital Management (NY), Investcorp International (NY) and Nobel Advisors in her native Bulgaria.

Merrill Lynch appointed financial advisor Andrew Horowitz to its office in Century City, California, having previously worked at Morgan Stanley for a stint of five years. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Horowitz focuses his practice on transition and succession planning for business owners and their families. He has worked with families throughout the US. 

EXTHERA Capital, a New York-based hedge fund manager concentrating in global therapeutics, appointed Rael Mazansky as director of research, working alongside the firm’s co-founder and chief investment officer, Ori Hershkovitz. Mazansky joined NEXTHERA after being a healthcare portfolio manager at Surveyor Capital (Citadel), and previously holding senior biotech analyst roles at Perceptive Advisors and Ridgeback Capital.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management made a raft of changes to its senior management amid a restructuring, including promotions for two executives. The following divisional line-up was announced with six regional units: Northeast, Bill Lorenz; Mid-Atlantic, Lindsay DeNardo Hans; Southeast, Eric Schimpf; Midwest, Paul Lambert; Texas Mountain South, Vince Fertitta, West, Jeff Markham. Two of these figures, Lindsay DeNardo Hans and Vince Fertitta, were promoted, the memo said. Hans was previously market executive of the Philadelphia metro area Fertitta previously was executive at the brokerage’s “Lone Star” market. Separately, Don Plaus, previously DE for the Southeast), and Ben Prince (previously DE for Southwest, who were division executives, moved to new roles on the leadership team. Another senior manager, Linda Houston, decided to retire; she had been DE for New England.

Jeffrey Tucker (previously DE NYC metro) moved to a new assignment and Tom Fickinger (Pacific Northwest) was considering new opportunities within the company. Jim Dickson (DE, Greater Midwest) left the firm to pursue other opportunities. Within the Private Banking & Investment Group and International segment, Don Plaus leads PBIG. Plaus also assumed responsibility for its international business.

Matthew Hanson joined the boutique investment and wealth firm Kayne Anderson Rudnick as a senior wealth advisor at its new Boston, MA, branch. Hanson was previously managing director of institutional sales at John Hancock Investments, a role he held since 2011. At Kayne, he reports to Stephen Rigali, executive managing director.

US law firm Day Pitney appointed international tax attorney Von E Sanborn to expand its family office practices and tax services. He is a partner in the organization’s corporate and business law department and is a member of its family office practice in New York. Sanborn previously worked at Withers Bergman, the law firm. His practice area includes tax and estate planning, as well as art law advice for affluent US and international families and single- and multi-family offices.

Independent investment advisory firm Wallace Hart Capital Management chose Raymond James as its custodial partner. The team is comprised of Jeremy Wallace, co-founder and chief investment officer; Andrew Hart, co-founder and chief planning strategist; and Jessica Bedell, wealth management specialist. Before launching their own firm, the trio worked for the world's largest wealth manager, UBS, where they managed more than $113 million in client assets.

Paul Lofties, senior vice president of wealth management and product strategy at Securities America, took additional responsibilities at the firm's parent company, Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services. Lofties maintains his current role at Securities America and remains based in La Vista, NE, but also serves as a senior vice president of wealth management at Ladenburg. Lofties joined Securities America in 2003.

Stanhope Capital added Mexico’s former finance minister Dr Pedro Aspe to its advisory board. Aspe sits alongside other industry and finance luminaries including Lord Browne, former BP chief executive, and Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP. He has four decades of experience in the areas of academia, federal government, and domestic and international private sectors.

Raymond James Financial Services has named Tim Killgoar as senior vice president and head of the financial institutions division.  Killgoar joined the division as director of strategy and consulting in 2015. He previously served as Raymond James’ director of client experience and from 2008 to 2010 he worked directly for the firm’s former chairman and CEO, Tom James. Killgoar succeeded John Houston, CFP, who announced in December that he would be stepping down from his division leadership position to take on the role of FID Eastern Division director, while achieving his personal goal of returning to the Nashville, TN, area to be closer to extended family.

Raymond James recently recruited five faces from Merrill Lynch, where they previously managed around $350 million in client assets, to its Williamsport, Pennsylvania office. Brian Pick, Terri Fought, Michael Bridgham, Craig Fought and Christine Engle joined the Florida-headquartered firm from Merrill Lynch where they also commanded annual fees and commissions of more than $2 million. Together, they operate as Pick Fought Wealth Advisors of Raymond James.

Michael Greenstone, John Araneo, Margie Manning and Anita Srivastava joined Merrill Lynch’s Glen Rock, NJ, office from Morgan Stanley, where they managed $343 million in assets.
Separately, Sam Kim and his associate Scott Mann joined Raymond James & Associates from Wells Fargo Advisors in Ashburn, VA. Kim, senior vice president of investments, and Mann, financial planning consultant, previously managed around $138 million and operate as Kim Wealth Management of Raymond James.

Financial advisors Ashley Banks and Donna Carroll joined Raymond James Financial Services in Gainesville, FL. The duo operates as Banks Carroll Group and previously managed $112 million in client assets at Morgan Stanley. Although they have several types of clients, they specialize in working with females, with a wider focus on providing divorce-related financial strategies.

Bay Trust and Wealth Management Group, part of Bay Banks of Virginia, Inc, appointed Eric F Nost, a financial services executive with more than 30 years of experience in the sector. Nost previously served as president of C&F Wealth Management, a subsidiary of C&F Bank of West Point, VA.  In his new role, Nost is president and chief executive of a new bank subsidiary called Virginia Commonwealth Bank Trust and Wealth Management. 

A US Navy veteran, Nost is a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, earned an MBA degree from Liberty University, and is a Certified Financial Planner.  After completion of his active duty military service, Nost began his career in financial services at the former Richmond-based Wheat, First Securities.  During that time, he also served as a reporter and stock market commentator for Richmond's WRIC-TV8 News.

Aron Riddle joined Atlanta, GA-based Buckhead Investment Partners as a personal wealth advisor and financial planner.  Riddle previously worked at a financial services firm in Atlanta, specializing in retirement planning, income planning, and trust and multi-generational planning needs.

A group of former Merrill Lynch employees became faces of a Avestar Capital, a global multi-family office and wealth advisory business that recently launched through Dynasty Financial Partners. The New York City-based firm's founding partner and chief executive, Xerxes Mullan, was previously a managing director of investments and international private wealth advisor at Merrill Lynch. He was joined by the following former Merrill employees: Tonya Smoake, chief operating officer; Sanjeet Dass, vice president of investments; Jennifer Wolf, vice president of financial planning; Alexa Cark, client services analyst; and Sonia Krauss, client services analyst.

Bruderman Asset Management appointed Stephanie Torosion as managing director of its wealth planning and family office services. Previously, Torosion was associate director of the wealth planning and analysis group at AllianceBernstein, where she consulted advisors and clients on asset allocation, multi-generational wealth planning, trusts and philanthropy. At Bruderman, Torosian  oversees a team of wealth advisors, working with the head of Bruderman family office, Matthew Bruderman, and will report to Oliver Pursche, chief executive.

Raymond James recruited a team from Merrill Lynch that previously managed around $220 million in client assets to join its office in Stuart, Florida, the firm’s native state. David Lum and Michael Piazza joined from Merrill Lynch where they also commanded annual fees and commissions of more than $1.7 million. Registered sales associate Theresa McMasters also joined the firm. The trio operate as Lum Wealth Management of Raymond James. The Stuart office is managed by Bill Romans and is part of the Florida East Coast complex, led by Dan Kraus.

Lum began his financial services career in 1981 as a legal and compliance auditor with EF Hutton in New York. In 1988, he joined Prudential Securities as a financial advisor and moved to Merrill Lynch in 1999.  Piazza started out as an intern with Merrill Lynch in 2010 during his off-seasons as a professional baseball player. He became a full-time financial advisor in 2015.

Markov Processes International, an investment analytics provider working with organizations including wealth managers, hired two new executives - Rohtas Handa and Aleksey Matiychenko. Handa joined as executive vice president and head of institutional solutions. Prior to MPI, Handa worked with Optimal Asset Management, a boutique asset management firm, where he was responsible for business development. Matiychenko joined as executive vice president and head of transparency and analytics. Prior to MPI, Matiychenko founded Risk-AI, an award-winning risk management technology and consulting firm with a focus on hedge funds, fund-of-hedge-funds and family offices. 

Christopher Whalen, senior managing director and head of research at Kroll Bond Rating Agency, and a panellist at a recent Family Wealth Report Breakfast Briefing, stepped down from KBRA after three years at the firm. In his position at Kroll, Whalen was responsible for the ratings of commercial banks and financial institutions, as well as publishing research. Going forward, Whalen returned to his past role as an analyst and consultant covering the financial services and mortgage finance sectors. Whalen will also be marketing his latest book, Ford Men: From Inspiration to Enterprise which will be released by Laissez Faire Books in early April this year.

Merrill Lynch appointed Juliano de Souza as an international financial advisor serving the Brazil market. He will be based in Miami. Previously, de Souza worked at Brazil-headquartered BTG Pactual in New York and Miami for eight years. While at BTG, he was responsible for $200 million in client assets. 

A pair of ex-Merrill Lynch advisors, Jim Ewing and Michael Cona, formed Ewing/Cona Wealth Management and affiliated with HighTower Advisors, the financial advisor network. The team, which managed nearly $200 million in assets at Merrill Lynch, is based in Marlton, NJ, in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Ewing has worked at Merrill Lynch for nearly a decade. Cona oversees financial planning for the team.

BNY Mellon recruited former Merrill Lynch man David High as a senior wealth director in Philadelphia, PA. Reporting to regional president Lee Woolley, High works with third-party advisors who serve wealthy clients throughout the US Mid-Atlantic region. He previously spent nine years as a first vice president within Merrill Lynch’s wealth structuring group and before that was a financial representative at Northwestern Mutual for six years.

Historian and author Mark Speltz joined Abbot Downing, Wells Fargo's ultra high net worth business, to help families use their knowledge of their past to protect and grow their wealth. Speltz, who is now part of the Wells Fargo Family and Business History Center, previously headed up the family history team at American Girl Brands, a subsidiary of Mattel. Among other responsibilities, he was responsible for the historical accuracy and authenticity of the company’s books, products, movies, and marketing efforts that reach millions of children and their families.

Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management's US unit named Angie O'Leary as head of wealth planning, a newly-created role that is part of a broader move to refine the firm's focus on goals-based advice. A 25-year veteran of the financial services industry, O'Leary most recently served as head of investment solutions for US Bank Wealth Management. While there, she was responsible for product management, desktop tools and digital investment capabilities. She also oversaw the firm's mutual fund and insurance product distribution relationships. Prior to that, she held senior roles at Swiss banking giant UBS and Piper Jaffray.

Raymond James recruited a trio of former Merrill Lynch faces who previously managed more than $138 million in client assets to join its Louisville, Kentucky office.  Financial advisor and vice president of wealth management Patricia Bennett, along with practice business coordinator Heather Poole and client service associate Kristen Swanson, joined from Merrill Lynch. While there, they commanded annual fees and commissions of more than $1 million. The trio operate as Creekstone Financial Group of Raymond James.

Raymond James recruited financial advisor Bradford Parsons from Merrill Lynch, where he managed more than $115 million in client assets, to join its Charlotte, North Carolina office. Parsons started his career in financial services in 1997 with the then-Smith Barney. He joined Merrill Lynch in 2008. At Raymond James, he will operate as Parsons Wealth Management of Raymond James.

Penn Capital Management promoted a quartet of its staff to the status of partner. The individuals are Lisa Matson, Robert McLaughlin, Peter Moran and Richard Simons. The move takes the total number of partners to 21. 

Deutsche Bank, which is planning a major overhaul of its current business model, appointed Pascal Boillat as its group chief information officer to spearhead its technology agenda. The role was newly created. He is responsible for defining Deutsche Bank's technology strategy and enhancing its standardization and digital capabilities. To accomplish this, Boillat will work with the bank's business divisions to modernize its IT infrastructure to reduce complexity and risk while enabling business growth. Additionally, he will lead the firm's global technology development centers. Boillat will continue to report to Kim Hammonds, group chief operating officer. He will also serve on the COO executive committee.

Key Private Bank, the Cleveland, Ohio-headquartered bank operating in 15 states, appointed Virginia “Ginny” Kuper as senior vice president and market leader serving its Hudson Valley and Metro New York market. Kuper leads a team of ten local private bankers who provide financial planning, investment, trust and banking solutions for high net worth individuals and families. Kuper has more than 25 years of wealth management and banking experience. Previously, she was at Wells Fargo Private Bank, where she served as a regional manager in the metropolitan New York market. She also held numerous senior level regional leadership positions at HSBC.

Keith Rowling joined Merrill Lynch’s wealth management team in Bloomfield Hills, MI, as a managing director and financial advisor. Rowling previously worked at Morgan Stanley, where he had $610,000,000 in assets under management.

David Canter took the reins from Bob Oros as head of Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions’ RIA segment. Oros held the post for five years and left the firm in January to join HD Vest as chief executive. Canter, who oversees sales and relationship management, was previously head of RIA practice management and consulting. Is to be replaced in this role by Matthew Chisholm, who reported to Canter as senior vice president of business analytics and consulting.

Raymond James recruited a trio of financial advisors from Morgan Stanley, where they collectively managed more than $114 million in client assets, to join its Colorado Springs office. Janis Cross, Matthew West and AJ Schultz all joined from the Wall Street giant, where they had $1.13 million in annual revenues. 

Cross kick-started her financial services career in 1997 with Morgan Stanley. West began working in the industry in 2001 with Citigroup/Smith Barney, and became a financial advisor in 2004. He remained with the firm after it was acquired by Morgan Stanley in 2009. Schultz interned with Smith Barney while he attended the University of Colorado, and joined full-time after he graduated with a BS in finance. He became a financial advisor in 2011.

Bellecapital International, the SEC-registered business of Switzerland-based Bellecapital Holding, made two hires for its US team in Zurich. Jared Metzger joined as a portfolio manager from Bank of America while Jeff Sullivan joined on the client side from Credit Suisse.

Metzger began his career as an equity analyst at William O’Neil & Co and then worked at United Universal, focused on private equity transactions. In his most recent role at BoA he was responsible for a portion of the bank’s $600 billion discretionary portfolio. Sullivan’s industry experience includes time spent as a private banker at JP Morgan in Chicago, IL, where he managed private and institutional assets. Before joining Bellecapital International, he was a private banker at Credit Suisse, managing assets for UK resident non-domiciled, and European clients.

Raymond James recruited a financial advisor who previously managed around $375 million in client assets at Wells Fargo Advisors to its new Columbia, South Carolina office. While at Wells Fargo Advisors, Preston Convington commanded annual fees and commissions of more than $2.4 million. Joining him are senior investment portfolio analyst Amanda Simconis and client service associate Lindsey Sisk. The trio operate as the Covington Financial Group of Raymond James.

Covington kick-started his financial services career in 1984 with Smith Barney Harris Upham and nine years later joined Johnson Lane, which was later acquired by Wachovia and subsequently became Wells Fargo. Simconis joined the Covington Financial Group as a consultant in 2013. Sisk has several years' experience as a client associate in the financial services industry.
 

Asia-Pacific moves 
Bank of Singapore appointed Teresa Lee, formerly of Standard Chartered, as market head for Greater China.  Lee is based in Hong Kong and reports to Sermon Kwan, Bank of Singapore’s Hong Kong branch chief executive and global market head of Greater China. At Standard Chartered, Lee was managing director, private banking for Hong Kong.

BlackRock melded Asia and global emerging market groups to great a “truly global GEM platform”. As part of the change, leadership for GEM strategies moved to Asia. Emerging market teams are led by Belinda Boa, as chief investment officer of emerging markets, fundamental active equity (previously head of APAC Active Investments). She remained as head of active investments for Asia-Pacific, covering active equities, fixed income and multi-asset. Andrew Swan, who is head of Asian equities, became head of Asian and global emerging markets equities, with Gordon Fraser, a portfolio manager in the global emerging market equity team, and moved to Hong Kong from London to assume portfolio management responsibilities alongside Swan for the Global Emerging markets Core portfolio. Both Swan and Boa are based in Hong Kong.

Savills Investment Management appointed Annie Li as associate director and portfolio manager at its Sydney branch. Li has spent more than 15 years in commercial real estate covering the Australian and New Zealand markets. She has experience in the office, industrial, retail and mixed-use sectors across acquisition, asset management, property management and debt financing, and has been involved in over A$1 billion ($765,565) of capital transactions. Prior to joining Savills IM, Li spent 10 years at GE Capital Real Estate.

A former portfolio boss at Falcon Private Bank in Singapore, Oliver Kuhn, took on a senior portfolio manager role at SingAlliance, an independent asset manager. In 2010, Kuhn joined Falcon Private Bank, Singapore, as the head of portfolio management, where he changed his career path from advisory to portfolio management. In 2011, he launched the Leveraged Emerging Market High Yield Bond discretionary mandates there for private clients.

HSBC planned to add up to around 1,000 new employees at its Chinese wealth management and retail banking arm this year, predominantly in the Pearl River Delta. Recruits joined an existing 2,400-strong retail and wealth management team.

Commonwealth Bank, the Australia-headquartered bank, appointed Rob Jesudason as chief financial officer. He took the helm from David Craig, who retired. Jesudason was group executive for international financial services. He joined the firm as head of strategy in 2011, and since 2014 has led the international financial services division, based out of Hong Kong.

Martyn Wild, the senior manager who runs the A$34 billion ($25.9 billion) of investments in Australia-based Westpac’s wealth management arm, left the lender, following allegations about inappropriate behaviour towards two female staff.

Chubb, the US-based insurer which provides wealth management services, appointed Michael Ho as country president for Chubb Life, the life insurance division of Chubb, in Hong Kong. Ho joined Chubb from Prudential Asia, where he most recently served as regional chief agency officer, responsible for building and developing the regional agency capabilities in Asia. In his role at Chubb Life, Ho is responsible for leading the Hong Kong operations for Chubb Life, which provides a broad range of life insurance and wealth management services.

Australia-listed AMP Capital rejigged its leadership, affecting its business in Asia and elsewhere. As part of the changes, the chief investment officer for global equities and fixed income left the company. Craig Keary, AMP Capital director of Australia and New Zealand, became AMP Capital director, Asia-Pacific. Keary retained responsibility for Australia and New Zealand and assume leadership of AMP Capital’s operations in Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Anthony Fasso, AMP Capital director, Asia, and global head of portfolio strategy based in Hong Kong, moved home to Australia after 23 years in the region, including seven with AMP Capital. He retained his portfolio strategy responsibilities and remained on the AMP Capital leadership , based in Melbourne. In this role, Fasso continued to focus on opportunities to accelerate AMP Capital’s growth through targeted mergers and acquisitions.

Simon Warner, head of global fixed income in Sydney, and London-based David Allen, global head of equities, were promoted to the role of global chief investment officer for their respective asset classes and will sit on the AMP Capital leadership team, reporting to CEO Adam Tindall. Mark Beardow, AMP Capital CIO of global equities and fixed income, left the business.

Chris Tang joined Standard Chartered as executive director, investment advisory, private banking. Tang reports to Barry Chan, head of investment advisory, private banking, Hong Kong. A figure in the industry for more than 20 years, working in client advisory and investment, Tang has worked at financial institutions including Credit Suisse Private Bank, Citi Private and HSBC Private Bank. He also has a background in multi-asset investment, and foreign exchange and equity products. Most recently, Tang was the head of active advisory North Asia in Bank of Singapore, and prior to that, Barclays.

DBS's regional head of eBusiness, Sandeep Lal, was concurrently appointed as group head of digital bank. He continues to report to Pearlyn Phau, deputy group head of consumer banking and wealth management. Lal joined DBS in 2008, and has more than 30 years of experience in the banking and digital payments space. Before joining DBS, he was regional head for PayPal - and started with PayPal from its startup days in the US in 2000. Prior to that, he worked with Citibank for 18 years in various senior roles and was based in Singapore, New York, Japan and India. As part of the change, Lal replaced Olivier Crespin who left the bank to pursue a new role in another organisation outside Singapore.

Chris Mueller stepped down from his role at Standard Chartered’s private bank as global head of investment advisory. He was based in Singapore. Mueller’s role wasn’t replaced because the reporting structure at the bank has changed, making his old position redundant. Mueller was at Standard Chartered for just over two years. Previously, he held the role of head, investment advisory, Asia, at Julius Baer, from November 2013 to February 2015.

Simon Kastono, managing director and market leader of Indonesia at Credit Suisse, left the Zurich-listed bank. In 2015, Kastono was promoted to sector co-head of Indonesia, at the time working alongside Torsten Linke.

Kam Shing Kwang was made the new Asia chief executive at JP Morgan Private Bank, replacing Andrew Cohen to be the Asia CEO. She retained her role as the senior country officer for JP Morgan Hong Kong, to which she was appointed in 2015. She reports to Cohen, who is the CEO for the international private bank of JP Morgan. In previous roles, Kwang was managing director and market manager for Hong Kong, China and sponsors, the Philippines and Thailand.

J Safra Sarasin appointed Vinay Gandhi as managing director and chief executive of its newly-created Ultra High Net Worth Asia division, joining the Switzerland-headquartered firm from its Alpine state rival, UBS. Gandhi reports to Enid Yip, CDO for Asia. He is based in Singapore, J Safra Sarasin.

Gandhi worked at UBS from January 2010, leading a team of 150 people based in Singapore and Hong Kong, serving UHNW clients in Southeast Asia, primarily in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, as well as global NRI clients. Prior to joining UBS, he served as MD and headed the South Asian business for Deustche Bank's private banking division in Singapore. Gandhi has held senior management positions with leading private banks such as Citigroup Private Bank and Commerzbank in Asia.

Nick Hughes, a headhunter who worked in Singapore in the wealth and financial services industry, relocated to Gibraltar to found a recruitment start-up, Eulat Consulting. Hughes has worked in financial markets recruitment for 17 years.

Julius Baer brought in a pair of managers from Deutsche Bank in Asia. Ancus Mak was appointed director in the chief investment office for Asia, reporting to Asia chief investment officer Bhaskar Laxminarayan. Mak is based in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Olive Wang joined as a director in the fund specialists Hong Kong team, reporting to Johann Santer, who heads that team. Wang is based in Hong Kong and was previously a fund specalist at Deutsche Bank Wealth Management. Prior to that, she worked at EFG Bank (HK). Previously, Mak was vice president, global products and solutions with a focus on discretionary portfolio management in the Asia-Pacific region.

Standard Chartered appointed a former senior private banker in Hong Kong from Credit Suisse. Phoebe Chow, who was a team leader at Credit Suisse in Singapore, moved to the
UK-listed bank, holding the role of managing director, Philippines & Taiwan Market. Sources had also told this publication about her departure from the Swiss lender.

Indosuez Wealth Management, the global wealth management group, appointed Leong Loo Lim Lynda as senior director of its Singapore operations. Leong spent the last 20 years working as a client advisor and private banker. Most recently, she worked with Julius Baer and UBS in Singapore and Taipei.

UBS appointed a new desk head of its Kowloon office in Hong Kong, Chris Ng, taking the helm from Michael Christo. Previously, Ng was head of banking products, Hong Kong, investment products and services.

Private Investments (Asia), an affiliate of Carret Asset Management, a New York-based investment manager, appointed two veteran wealth management professionals, David Lam and Calvin Hsu. Lam joined Carret Private Investments’ asset management subsidiary as chairman of its advisory board. With more than 34 years of experience in the financial industry, he has held a range of roles, most recently as head of North Asia for Coutts Private Bank and head of GAM for the Asia-Pacific region. Lam was educated in the US with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and an MBA from the University of Southern California. He is based in Hong Kong. Hsu joined Carret Private Investments’ wealth management affiliate, QL Asset Management Company, as partner and head of Greater China. He brings over 28 years of experience with various international banks in Asia and the US. He spent much of his financial career working for Citibank, most recently as regional head for Citi Wealth Advisors and previously in senior wealth management roles at Salomon Smith Barney.

Equiom, an international trust and corporate services provider, appointed Derek Vaz as its deputy global chief financial officer. Vaz has more than 20 years' experience in the financial services industry and has held numerous senior roles at Lloyds Banking Group and KPMG.

Former JP Morgan man Yoshiyuki Shimoyama was appointed as head of BNY Mellon Investment Management’s financial institutions group in Japan. Based in Tokyo, Shimoyama works on serving Japanese banks and insurance companies. He reports to Shogo Yamaguchi, chairman and president of BNY Mellon Asset Management (Japan), and Lindsay Wright, head of distribution and co-head of BNY Mellon Investment Management (Asia-Pacific). Shimoyama joined from JP Morgan Asset Management (Japan), where he has worked since 1990 upon joining Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York in Tokyo. His most recent roles at the firm include executive director and head of financial institutions sales and marketing; vice president of institutional sales and marketing; and head of pension funds.

Christie's, the global auction house, appointed Charlotte Liu as managing director of its China operations. Liu has more than two decades of international experience in the publishing, education, and consulting sectors. Throughout her career, she has worked in China, the US and Canada. Most recently, she was president of Greater China at Springer Nature, a global research and educational publisher, where she helped establish the company in the region.

Eaton Vance, a global asset manager, added a representative office in Tokyo. Tetsuo Kushiya has joined the firm from Mizuho Securities as a vice president and senior relationship manager in Asia-Pacific.
Credit Suisse gave wealth planning a more pivotal role within its Asia-Pacific private banking business with the addition of a dedicated team for ultra-wealthy clients. The unit, led by Bernard Fung, draws on the capabilities of the firm’s family office services and philanthropy advisory function as well as those of the trust and estate advisory team in Singapore. Team members include Pauline Khoo, head of trust and estate advisory in Singapore; Thomas Ang, who became head of family office services for Asia-Pacific; and Joost Bilkes, who assumed the role of head of responsible and impact investing for Asia-Pacific.

State Street Global Advisors promoted Cyrus Taraporevala, current global head of product and marketing, to a role overseeing all client- and consultant-facing marketing and product functions for its institutional clients. Prior to joining SSGA in April last year, Taraporevala worked with Fidelity Investments, where he led its retail managed accounts and life insurance and annuities business. Earlier in his career, he also spent stints at BNY Mellon Asset Management and Citigroup Global Investment Management. In total, he has more than 25 years' experience in asset management.