Signature Bank hired a trio from Wells Fargo for its growing private client banking team. Craig Anzalone, group director and senior vice president leads the three-person team and was joined by Patricia Modena, associate group director and vice president, and Karen Perry-Taylor, senior client associate.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Bank of America's brokerage business, brought in two teams of financial advisors, hiring a team from Credit Suisse’s US-based private banking unit and one from Wells Fargo Advisors. Bruce Lee and Jim Hoesley joined Merrill’s Private Banking and Investment Group in Chicago.

Savant Capital Management appointed Matt Armstrong as a financial advisor and member of the advisory team of Savant Portfolios. Michelle Angileri was named marketing coordinator, and Kathy Pirtle, was promoted to HR manager.

Manulife Asset Management named Adam Neal as Canadian head of sales and relationship management.

WeiserMazars, an accounting and financial advisory firm, promoted a trio of senior managers to partner status at its New York City and Lake Success, NY offices. Roberto Viceconte, Seth Cohen and Guillaume Wadoux were appointed partners, in the private client, tax, and procedure, insurance and reinsurance practices respectively. The firm also made three appointments to its management team, bringing in Elizabeth Collins, Anthony Annino and Janet Seekell. Collins is now a trust officer working with HNW clients, Annino was appointed as an investment analyst, responsible for investment research and portfolio construction, and Seekell is now a trust administator responsible for the administration of the firm's client accounts and trust operations.

Sanctuary Wealth Services, which provides investment and consulting services to independent advisors, appointed Michael Battey as special advisor of investment strategy. Battey was previously a managing director at Atlantic Trust Company, where he ran the firm's San Francisco office.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch hired two senior executives for its US Trust wealth management office at Menlo Park. Robert Kamme is now a senior vice president while Jeffrey Quijano takes the role of senior trust officer.

Cedar Brook Financial Partners, the Ohio-based wealth management firm, appointed Shannon Barry as client manager of the retirement plans division. Barry was previously a senior manager at Oswald Financial, where she was responsible for researching, developing and conducting educational programs for clients on retirement planning.

Marks Paneth & Shron, the accounting firm specializing in high net worth individuals and non-profits, named Harry Moehringer as co-managing partner at the firm. Moehringer served for some time on MP&S's operating and executive committees, which are responsible for overseeing management and developing strategy. In his new role, he will lead alongside Mark Levenfus. Moehringer will not assume his post until 1 January 2012, when incumbent co-managing partner Arthur Cannata vacates his position.

Bel Air Investment Advisors, the wealth management firm that specializes in high net worth individuals and families, named Mark Tunney as senior vice president. Tunney was previously the founder and managing partner at Lionshead Capital Management, an investment firm that makes direct structured equity and debt investments into publicly-traded small- and mid-cap companies.

Citi promoted its Asia-Pacific co-head Stephen Bird to the position of sole chief executive of Asia, while his former co-head, Shirish Apte, will become chairman of the region. Since 2009 Bird and Apte have shared the role, with Bird focusing on China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, and Apte concentrating on South and Southeast Asia. Bird will run Asia, but he will also continue to spend time with key clients in North Asia.

UBS Wealth Management Americas nabbed an advisory team with $1.7 billion assets under management from Morgan Stanley’s Private Wealth Management business in Chicago. Desai Group, which has twelve-month revenue of $8.3 million, is led by Ajay Desai, who has been appointed as a managing director and private wealth advisor. He is joined by senior vice presidents John Staab and Frank Pellicori. The team works with family offices and ultra high net worth families and individuals, specializing in estate planning and concentration issues as they relate to wealth transfer and liquidity for UHNW families.

JP Morgan Chase & Co added James Bell, chief financial officer and executive vice president of the Chicago-based aerospace firm The Boeing Company, to its board of directors and audit committee. Bell oversees Boeing Capital Corporation, the company’s customer finance subsidiary, and Boeing Shared Services, a division to provide internal services across its global enterprise. He is also a member of the board of directors of US-listed Dow Chemical Company, the Chicago Urban League, World Business Chicago and the Chicago Economics Club.

The asset management giant PIMCO hired three new investment professionals, expanding its portfolio management analytics team in New York and London. Vasant Naik was appointed executive vice president and global head of empirical research, based out of PIMCO’s London offices. Stefano Risa was appointed executive vice president and head of mortgage and asset-backed analytics, based in PIMCO’s New York offices. Lastly, Riccardo Rebonato, who joined the firm on 1 December, was named executive vice president and head of rates and FX analytics, based at the firm’s London offices.

San Francisco-headquartered Bank of the West Wealth Management filled 28 of its new private client advisor positions across Western and Midwestern states.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management appointed Ridgway Powell as the managing director and team leader of its group of wealth advisors specializing in the financial affairs of ultra high net worth families and family offices. Powell worked for 25 years at BNY Mellon and most recently served as director of investments for the family office services division. He reports directly to Donald Heberle, head of the family wealth and international businesses.

Brown Brothers Harriman, the US-based wealth manager and investment bank, appointed Spence Fischer as a relationship manager at its wealth office in Chicago. Fischer takes the role of vice president at BBH and will be responsible for relationship management, investment execution and business development for the Chicago office.

PricewaterhouseCoopers appointed Lisa Pavelka McAlister as managing director of the US Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services group. McAlister previously served as senior vice president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

JHS Capital Advisors, the Tampa-based asset manager, brought in William Owen as a financial advisor with a focus on the South Florida market. Owen most recently served as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and currently manages $10 million in assets.

Valentine Capital Asset Management, a registered investment advisor based in the San Francisco Bay Area, appointed Reynold Samoranos as chief compliance officer. Samoranos joined Valentine from Hammerman Capital Management, a hedge fund firm, where he served as both chief financial officer and chief compliance officer.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial, the US bank holding firm, appointed Stephen Kozuch as first vice president and co-director of wealth management at PGB Trust & Investments, the wealth management unit of Peapack-Gladstone Bank. In this new position he becomes part of the team responsible for directing PGB Trust's wealth advisory offering. 

Bank of America appointed Brett Bernard as state president for Michigan. Bernard worked for Merrill Lynch for more than 27 years, initially as a financial advisor and then moving on to assume key leadership roles. He currently serves as market executive for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in the Mideast, overseeing 2,300 staff. He retains this position in addition to his new role.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management promoted Andrew Tepper to its wealth advisory team, which works with ultra high net worth families and family offices. Tepper has been with the firm since 2008, and before the appointment was a senior portfolio manager in the Philadephia region, responsible for overseeing around $600 million in discretionary and trust assets.

Four executives who recently resigned from HSBC's Israeli desk in New York are set to move to similar positions at UBS' New York-based Israel team. The team that resigned collectively was headed by Issac Doueck, head of Israel at UBS.

UBS, the Swiss banking giant, laid off some of its Canada-based staff as it ends its in-house management of Canadian-equity portfolios. Eight workers left, composed of analysts, traders and administrative support staff. Pierre Ouimet and Ron Schwartz, both senior executives, will reportedly stay temporarily while a unit of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce takes over management of the company's Canadian stock funds.

Peak Advisor Alliance, the Nebraska-based financial advisor coaching firm, appointed Vickie Seitner and Scott Wood as executive business coaches. Seitner has over 18 years of experience in management and consulting. Prior to Peak she founded her own coaching company, and also spent 10 years in human resources at Charles Schwab.

Alexandra & James, the New York wealth management and family office firm, hired Tara Gauthier as a portfolio manager and relationship manager. Gauthier has over 15 years of investment experience and previously served as a portfolio manager at US Trust Company.

The chairman of the board of UBS, Kaspar Villiger, will step down earlier than expected, to be succeeded by Axel Weber at the bank's annual general meeting next year, hastening the change of the guard at the bank in the wake of a $2.3 billion rogue trader loss. Renowned Swiss businessman and politician Villiger opted to accelerate the leadership change at UBS by not standing for re-election to the board of directors at the AGM on 3 May 2012.

Jensen Investment Management, the Oregon-based asset manager, appointed Monte Mitchell as director of sales. He will focus on service to financial advisor clients in the western US, as well as on relationships in the defined contribution channel across the country. 

UBS brought in three professionals to expand its wealth management division in Mexico, in a move it says confirms its commitment to the market there. The team includes Jaime Preciado Lopez Hidalgo, who will lead the Guadalajara metropolitan region, Gabriel Gomez, who will lead the Monterrey region, and Enrique Ignacio Morales Abiego as a managing director in the Mexico City team.

Deutsche Insurance Asset Management, the insurance managed equities unit of Deutsche Bank, expanded its New York operations with the hire of Xiaoyu Liu as portfolio manager and director. Liu is from Columbia Management Group, the asset management firm owned by Ameriprise Financial, where she served as a portfolio manager specializing in tax-efficient US and global equity strategies.

First Republic Bank hired Gene Martino, latterly of BNY Mellon, as a portfolio manager and managing director in New York City. Martino is a 15-year veteran of BNY Mellon, where he joins from and worked most recently as a managing director and senior portfolio manager.

RBC Wealth Management, the Canada-based wealth manager, hired John Moran as director of its Midtown office complex in New York City. At RBC he will oversee around 60 financial advisors and 46 additional employees serving clients in four branches: Hampton Bays, Jericho, Midtown and Southampton.

UBS Wealth Management Americas appointed two senior executives to its Boulder and Newport Beach branches in California. Arthur Polner joined as a senior vice president for investments and senior portfolio manager for the Boulder office, reporting directly to Peter Ford, the branch manager. Also newly hired is Jesse Rodriguez as SVP for the Newport Beach branch, reporting to Ron Meraz, manager of the branch.

Northern Trust appointed Katherine Ellis Nixon as chief investment officer for its personal financial services division. Nixon joined Northern Trust in 2004 as a senior portfolio manager and went on to become chief investment officer for the Northeast region in 2005.

North Carolina-headquartered Oakbrook Solutions, the wealth management and retirement services technology firm, appointed Chris Martinez as a managing consultant.

Lazard Wealth Management, a subsidiary of the financial advisory and asset management firm, named James Le Rose as a senior relationship manager based in New York. Le Rose was previously a senior client account manager and New York team leader at Bessemer Trust Company.

Brown Brothers Harriman, the investment advisor to wealthy clients, appointed Matthew Giorgetti as relationship manager for the Boston wealth management office. Giorgetti joins as vice president and brings seven years of industry experience to the firm.

RBC Wealth Management brought in two advisors from HSBC Bank USA following a series of announcements that threaten the jobs of many of the latter's workforce in the upstate New York area. Christine Cisco and Patrick Signor, formerly vice presidents and financial advisors at HSBC, are now part of RBC Wealth.

Bank of America increased the number of financial solutions advisors under its Merrill Edge brand to more than 1,200, effectively hitting its goal of doubling its FSA count by the end of 2011. The hires are part of the bank's initiative meant to enhance product and service offerings to preferred clients, or those with $50,000 to $250,000 in investible assets.

Janney Montgomery Scott, the Philadelphia-based financial services firm, made two appointments for its private client group leadership team. Jim Dornan joined as senior vice president and regional manager of the 30 offices within the firm's realigned western and southern regional network, while Ray DiGaetano, a Janney veteran, was appointed to the newly-created position of director of branch business development. 

First Republic Bank appointed Brian McNamee as managing director. In his new position he will provide individuals, families, businesses and foundations with banking, investment management, trust, brokerage and real estate lending services. 

Paresh Upadhyaya, head of Americas group of 10 currency strategy at Bank of America, is leaving the firm to become director of foreign exchange at Pioneer Investment Management. Upadhyaya will join Pioneer in Boston on December 27.

New York-headquartered private bank Brown Brothers Harriman hired Daniel Greifenkamp as head of mutual fund business development for its investment management business. Greifenkamp joins BBH as a senior vice president with responsibility for the sales and distribution strategy of BBH’s registered mutual funds in the US. He will report to Jeff Schoenfeld, partner responsible for investment management business development and relationship management, and will be based in BBH’s New York office. 

Raymond James, the financial advisory and wealth management group, made a number of appointments in both information technology and operations. Vincent Campagnoli was named senior vice president, head of Private Client Group technology strategy and development. Sateesh Prabakaran was appointed chief architect, heading key areas including architecture, enterprise data and database administration. Joe Meyer also joined the advisor technology support team at Raymond James, named to the new position of technology consultant.

John Hancock Financial, the financial services subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation, appointed David Longfritz as its chief marketing officer. Longfritz previously served as senior vice president and general manager of the company's retirement income and rollover solutions division, which developed lifetime retirement solutions through John Hancock's wealth management businesses.

San Francisco-headquartered First Republic Bank hired Lance Mackey as a managing director for its Boston office. Mackey joins from Citizens Bank, and has also worked at firms including Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and The Boston Company before this appointment.

Boston-based Silver Bridge Advisors hired Julie Hammerman as a client advisor to its San Francisco office, as part of the company’s ongoing expansion in the West Coast. Hammerman previously served as assistant VP in the Private Wealth Management Group at Merrill Lynch and as an associate in JP Morgan’s Private Client Group.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management hired Susan Traver as the first president of its Washington DC office, which it opened just this month. Traver joins from Wells Fargo Private Bank, where she served as regional managing director in Washington DC. She will report to David Kutch, regional president for the Mid-Atlantic region.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management appointed Penny Weeks as regional director for private banking in New England. Weeks has more than 25 years of private banking experience serving high net worth clients and their families. In her new role, she will be based in Boston and report directly to Erin Gorman, managing director of the national mortgage business. 

Raymond James Financial appointed Dennis Zank, currently president of Raymond James & Associates, as chief operating officer of the parent firm, amid a round of executive changes at its wealth management and investment banking units. Zank served as Raymond James & Associates’ president of the private client unit for the past nine years. He joined the group’s accounting department in 1978 and became controller in 1982.

ForwardThink Group, the IT and management consultancy firm, hired Alan Morley to head up its team that deals with issues created by new and upcoming financial services regulation in New York City.

Citi Private Bank appointed Claire Rosati as a director and wealth planner for the Chicago branch. Rosati joined from Barclays Wealth Trustees, where she was president and a member of the board of directors. At Barclays she led the strategic development and execution of a new national trust business.