Northern Trust has hired Brian Heilman as a senior portfolio manager in the competitive Washington DC market.

Heilman was most recently a senior portfolio manager at US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, as well as its predecessor firm in the DC area. In his earlier career he has also served in the Los Angeles, CA and Tokyo offices of Bank of America.

At Northern Trust Heilman reports to Joanne Stringer, managing director of the Washington DC office, which the firm opened last year.

“Since we opened our office in October, we’ve continued to expand and build relationships with clients and the community. Adding another seasoned investment professional will strengthen our growing client service team,” said Stringer.

Washington DC is a target growth market for many wealth managers, creating stiff competition for talent there. Wilmington Trust recently launched an office there, and last week announced it had nabbed four advisors from Wells Fargo Private Bank to staff the office. Three of the advisors had joined Wells Fargo in 2010.

In a report that emerged earlier this year from the New York-based executive search firm David Barrett Partners, called Wealth in Motion, the DC Metro area was cited as one of a group of regional pockets of wealth to watch.

Meanwhile, last November BNY Mellon unveiled a Washington DC office, appointing Susan Traver – from Wells Fargo Private Bank - to lead the outfit. At the time, the New York-headquartered firm said it was excited to expand in the “fourth largest wealth market in the US.”