Below is a round-up of the movers and shakers in North America in August, a month which saw Bank of America ramp up its Merrill Edge offering as part of a big mass affluent push; UBS hire a significant number of advisors despite announcing job cuts; US Bank make another hire at its UHNW business, and BNY Mellon strengthen its wealth business, just before it began September by announcing a change in leadership.

Raymond James hired Gary McGovern, John Flaherty, and Frank McDonell as senior vice presidents of investments at its Hingham, Massachusetts branch.

McGovern used to be the first vice president and assistant branch manager at Wells Fargo in Norwell, where he oversaw $129 million in client assets and had nearly $750,000 in annual fees and commissions. Flaherty, also from Wells Fargo, most recently managed $67 million in client assets and generated more than $750,000 in annual production. McDonnell is from RBC Wealth Management, where he oversaw $85 million in client assets and almost $700,000 in annual fees and commissions.

Also moving from Wells Fargo with Flaherty and McGovern are registered client service associates Marilyn Drobiarz and Wendy Solari.

Bank of America announced the hire of nearly 40 financial advisors in the mid-Atlantic region as part of the drive to bolster its preferred client business. The appointment of Merrill Edge financial solutions advisors is in line with the plan to double the number of FSAs to over 1,000 nationwide by the end of 2011.

UBS laid off three financial advisors from its Canadian network in a bid to consolidate operations in the country.

Toronto-based advisors Mike Ralph, Paul de la Roche, and Aaron Martin left the company, in a move that is consistent with the bank's recent announcement that it is slashing 3,500 jobs worldwide to reduce annual expenditure

Acadia Trust, the wealth management subsidiary of Camden National Corporation, named Stephen Tall as president and chief executive.

Tall most recently worked as a consultant to various firms across the US. He is also a former executive at Burnett Companies in Fort Worth. Before joining Burnett, he was an executive vice president for the high net worth division of Fiduciary Trust International in New York City.

In his new role, Tall will be based at the firm's Portland headquarters and will be responsible for coordinating all of Acadia's investment and trust services throughout Maine.

UBS hired a team of three financial advisors from Merrill Lynch for its Framlington Hills, Michigan branch.

With a combined production of $2.85 million and $450 million in assets under management, Makram Talia, Robert Loupee, and Michael Graziani all joined the firm. Talia was previously an advisor for Merrill Lynch for 33 years, Loupee for five years, and Graziani for 16 years. All three will report to John Bush, the complex director for Framlington Hills.

KeyBank, the US-based financial services firm, appointed David Kraus as director of the contact centers unit, which specializes in sales and service delivery for retail, business commercial, high net worth, and treasury management clients.

Kraus was previously the consumer division manager of contact centers. Prior to that, he was director of performance management at HSBC's customer relationship center. In his new role, he will be leading an operation with more than 700 employees in four sites who handle over 85 million client contacts. He is based at the western New York contact center in Amherst.

PNC Financial Services appointed Clay Henry as managing director of the asset management group in Greater Maryland.

Henry returns to PNC from Graystone Wealth Management and Private Bank, where he was an executive director for ultra high net worth clients. He was also previously an executive vice president at First National Wealth Management, and before that held the same role at Millenium Wealth Management. In his past work at PNC, he held various positions including director of investment services and marketing, and director of strategic planning and acquisitions.

Returning to the firm, he will be responsible for all wealth management activities throughout the region.

US Bank brought in Jonathan Firestein as head of private capital at Ascent Private Capital Management, the ultra high net worth unit of the firm's wealth management group.

In his new position he will lead efforts to develop the private capital investment platform for Ascent's clients, including global investment strategies in venture capital, buyouts, private debt, real estate and real asset investment funds. His former roles include director of research for Wells Fargo Family Wealth, and senior associate at Rigel Associates, a California-based private equity firm.

Firestein began in the position last month, and is working at US Bank's office at One California Street in San Francisco.

BNY Mellon appointed attorney Joshua Miller to a newly-created position in its wealth management business, supporting the firm’s clients in the areas of private banking, wealth, tax and estate planning.

Miller was appointed at vice president level, and will be based in Boston, reporting to Dan Gebhart, a senior director at the firm. A practicing attorney for seven years, he joined BNY Mellon from the law firm Holland & Knight.

UBS hired financial advisor Brian Zalewski to join its Americas wealth management office in Chicago.

Zalewski steps in from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and also previously worked at Citigroup. His background includes $1.1 million in production and $110 million in assets. He reports directly to Geoffrey Centner, the branch manager.

Gluskin Sheff + Associates, the Canadian wealth management firm that serves high net worth and institutional investors, appointed Bruce Kagan as vice president for risk management.

Kagan was previously the chief executive of Blackmont Capital, which has operations in the wealth management and capital markets. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Macquarie Private Wealth, after Blackmont became part of Macquarie Group in January 2010. He brings 20 years of investment industry experience to his new role.

Mercer named senior partner Tom Murphy as head of investment management for the US, effective from 1 September.

Murphy used to be the head of investment management for EMEA - a position he held for five years. He joined the company in 1997. In his new role Murphy remains a member of the investment management leadership team and will be based in Boston.

Following this appointment, Ken Crotty, who held both the US investment management and the global chief operating officer positions, will now focus exclusively on being COO. Murphy reports directly to Rich Nuzum, the president and global business leader of the firm's investment management division.

Wells Fargo & Co laid off 15 employees in its wealth management business in the Carolinas as part of an efficiency program.

The cuts to wealth management form part of a reorganization of that business as a result of Project Compass, a drive to trim quarterly expenses at the bank by $1.5 billion by the final quarter of 2012.

Macquarie Group's Canadian wealth management unit recruited a team of financial advisors that manages almost C$224 million (around $226 million) in assets from HSBC's Canadian brokerage business in Calgary.

Portfolio manager Nick Twyman and investment advisor Bryn Gardener-Evans, as well as associate advisor Craig Evans, and investment services associate Cheryl Cadieux joined Macquarie Private Wealth from HSBC.

DNB First Wealth Management, the Philadelphia-based banking and wealth management firm,  brought in financial services veteran John Stoddart as a senior investment portfolio manager.

Stoddart previously held key positions in the fields of shareholder relations, private banking, and portfolio management. More recently, he worked for Graystone Wealth Management and its predecessor, First National Wealth Management, as an investment portfolio manager. There he specialized in the activities of high net worth individuals and families, charitable organizations and municipalities.

Jonathan Sorrell joined Man Group from Goldman Sachs as head of strategy and corporate finance.

Sorrell will report directly to Peter Clarke, the chief executive, and be based in Riverbank House, London, the company’s new headquarters. As part of the executive team, one of his tasks is understood to be seeking to improve Man’s presence in the US and Asia.

Citibank’s chief operating officer Douglas Peterson is set to take over at the helm of Standard & Poor’s, as the current president of the latter firm, Deven Sharma, will leave at the end of the year.

Peterson takes over as president on 12 September, and Sharma will spend the rest of his time at S&P working on a special assignment on the firm’s strategic portfolio review.

The executive search firm Odgers Berndtson brought in Alexander Thomson, a financial services specialist, as a partner at its Boston office and head of its US asset management practice, as it plans to grow this business.

Thomson joined Odgers Berndtson from rival recruiter Russell Reynolds, where he was a managing director in the firm’s asset & wealth management, real estate, and endowment & foundation practices.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, the Massachusetts-based financial services firm, named J Williar Dunlaevy and Barton Raser as directors of the company and its wholly-owned subsidiary Berkshire Bank.

Dunlaevy was previously the chairman and chief executive of Legacy Bancorp and Legacy Banks.

The fund management giant Vanguard hired Gemma Wright-Casparius as a principal and senior portfolio manager on its fixed income team.

In her new role Wright-Casparius is taking over as co-manager of the $36.8 billion Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities Fund from Kenneth Volpert, principal and head of Vanguard’s taxable bond group. She reports to Volpert, and will co-manage with John Hollyer, a principal at the firm who previously co-managed the fund with Volpert.

TD Wealth, the wealth management subsidiary of Toronto Dominion Bank, named Kelly Bekas as PCS corporate trust advisor for the mid-Atlantic region.

Bekas joined the company in 2002 and most recently served as PCS client services specialist. In her new position, she is based in the firm's institutional and corporate trust division in Cherry Hill and is responsible for sales, administration, and retaining assigned accounts, including bond trustee, bond registrar, paying agents, escrow agency, and custody.

Huntington Bancshares, the full-service bank and investment management provider, appointed Helga Houston as chief risk officer to replace Kevin Blakely, who is set to retire by year-end.

Houston brings 30 years of diversified banking experience to her new role, where she will specialize in risk management strategies for wealth and investment management, corporate and investment banking, and commercial real estate finance. Prior to this post, she was a partner at Phoenix Global Advisors and held several executive roles at Bank of America. She reports directly to Stephen Steinour, the chairman, president, and chief executive of Huntington.

Chicago-based HighTower hired Dr Margaret Towle as partner and managing director, effective 16 August.

Towle was previously an advisor with Greycourt, which provides asset allocation and investment services for endowments and wealthy families. She joined Greycourt in 2008.

BNY Mellon created a new role at its wealth management unit, bringing in former JP Morgan exec Paul Sari to develop a national sales strategy to reach high net worth clients within the firm's institutional arm.

Sari, who has been appointed head of institutional client development and opportunity management within BNY's wealth business, will oversee lead-generation efforts across the US. Sari returns to BNY Mellon from JP Morgan, where he latterly managed business development and client management for one of the Wall Street firm's institutional business.

Bermuda-based Butterfield added Victor Dodig to its board of directors, replacing John Orr as one of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s two representatives on the 12-strong board.

Northern Trust brought in Jason Tyler to lead corporate strategy, as Caroline Devlin, who previously held that role, is moving to join the firm’s Personal Financial Services business.

Tyler will join the firm on 6 September from Chicago-based Ariel Investments, where he was director of research operations and a member of the investment committee. He will report to Northern Trust’s chairman and chief executive Frederick Waddell.

At PFS, which the firm has been building out lately, Devlin will refine the strategic goals as it looks to expands its international wealth management business. She will report to PFS president Jana Schreuder.

Los Angeles-based Salem Partners, which has both investment banking and wealth management operations, brought in Rob Santos to its senior wealth management team.

Santos has been appointed director of development and client relations of Salem’s wealth management group, as well as its SW Contego Fund, a fund of hedge funds. The role is a new one at the firm and marks an expansion of the wealth management group. Santos joined from JP Morgan Securities.

Minneapolis–based White Oaks Wealth Advisors and Intrinzia Family Office, which White Oaks acquired early this year, promoted Cyndi Castle to vice president of family office services.

Castle was previously the director of client services for Intrinzia, which is run as an independent business unit. In this new position, she manages the family office service relationships and communications, and provides investment oversight services.

Russell Reynolds Associates, the international executive search firm, promoted Renato Furtado as managing director of its Sao Paulo office. Prior to joining Russell in 2007 he was a director at Citigroup, where he served for 12 years within the capital markets and banking divisions.

SunTrust Banks named Brad Dinsmore, formerly of Citigroup, as executive vice president of consumer banking and private wealth management.

Dinsmore was previously the head of US retail banking at Citigroup. At SunTrust, he will be based in Atlanta, reporting directly to CT Hill, corporate executive vice president and head of consumer banking and mortgage. Dinsmore will oversee the retail banking, card, consumer lending, consumer product, and private wealth management businesses. He will also work closely with Rilla Delorier, the chief marketing officer, and Tom Kuntz, head of geographic banking.

SEI hired Brent Wilkins as head of asset management distribution for its Canada office. Wilkins is charged with developing and maintaining SEI’s distribution network to reach asset targets, as well as presenting the firm’s services to partners, and delivering on its strategic sales plan.

This is a newly-created role at the firm, demonstrating its commitment to the Canadian market.

Wilkins joined SEI in Canada from RBC Dexia Investor Services, where he oversaw sales and relationship management for the Americas.

Advisor Partners, the investment advisory firm owned by Advisor Software, brought in Daniel Kern from Charles Schwab Investment Management as president.

He was appointed to oversee a number of functions such as investment management, sales and client service, and investment strategies. In this role he replaces former president Dennis Clark, who has left the firm, and reports directly to Andrew Rudd, chairman and chief executive of Advisor Software.

Kanaly Trust, the Houston-based wealth management and trust services provider, appointed Nolan Lehmann to its board of directors.

Lehmann is currently a director of Republic Services and has also served on the boards of NYSE- and NASDAQ-listed companies. He joins incumbent board members Eugene Schwinger, H Michael Tyson, and Edward McCullough.

Baird added eight wealth professionals to its Salt Lake City branch. Five of the advisors are from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, namely Fred Wheeler, Jan Bayle, Alex Wheeler, Barbara Campbell, and Jery Mariani. Together they manage over $250 million in client assets. The five join as senior vice presidents and financial advisors.

The other three new joiners to Baird are Melissa Clayville as a registered client relationship specialist, Christie Siddoway as a registered client relationship associate, and Scott Ulbrich as a financial advisor associate.

WTAS New York, part of one of the largest independent tax advisory firms in the US, added former Ernst & Young partner Kenneth Zemsky as a managing director in the state and local tax group. Zemsky specializes in multistate corporate and personal income taxes, concentrating on New York and New York City tax law.

Pennsylvania Trust, the US investment management and trust company, appointed Peter Johnson as senior vice president to lead the guardianship and special needs trust unit.

Johnson stepped in from Heckscher, Teillon, Terrill and Sager, where he specialized in special needs trust and guardianship planning, estate planning for high net worth individuals, and trust and estate administration. In this new position, he will be working with special needs individuals, with a focus on estate and financial planning. He is joined by Sheila Gibson as vice president. Gibson was previously a vice president for the special needs trust and guardianship arm of PNC's wealth management division.

Genworth Financial Asset Management appointed Sean Curley as senior vice president and product specialist for the investment management unit. Curley was previously a portfolio specialist at Hartford Investment Management Company. He is a chartered financial analyst.

BNY Mellon named Diego Folina as country executive in Mexico. Folino joins the company from Standard Chartered Bank, where he served in a number of senior management positions, including as president and chief executive of private banking in the Americas and as CEO and country representative in Mexico.

In his new role, Folina will oversee the direction and expansion of the firm's local capabilities across all business lines in the country. He reports directly to Rene Boettcher, the firm's chairman for Latin America.

Wealth manager Baird added veteran advisor team The Capuano Bulter Group to its Denver wealth management office.

The team comprises N Dominic Capuano and Timothy Butler, who will both function as senior vice presidents. In addition to his advisory role, Butler will also serve as associate branch manager of the Denver office. Prior to the hire, the duo were financial consultants with Charles Schwab's private client group.

Wilmington Trust added a team of business development professionals to its Delaware corporate client services headquarters in a bid to bolster its retirement services offering.

Effective immediately, Stephen Johnson and Eric Mull step into newly-created positions to provide support to the firm's existing network of financial advisors and third-party administrators to deliver trust services to selected plan sponsors.

Prior to the appointments, both worked for NADART, where Johnson was a director of business development and client service and Mull was a senior retirement services consultant.

Classic Wealth Advisory, the custom wealth strategies division of Raymond James and Associates, appointed Sandy Chambers as financial advisor for its Chattanooga office in Tennessee.

Chambers spent the last seven years as head of the trust department for FSGBank. Prior to that, she was part of the trust department of Pioneer Bank/First American Bank/AmSouth Bank for 12 years.

TD Wealth, a subsidiary of TD Bank, appointed John Strickland as vice president, private banking officer for its Charleston, South Carolina branch. Strickland was previously a wealth manager at the likes of SunTrust, BB&T, and Wachovia.

Wilmington Trust hired Kirk Mooneyham as vice president and managing director of its captive management services business.

Mooneyham stepped in from Beecher Carlson, where he served as vice president of captive services overseeing a group of 50 captive insurance firms in various US locations. At Wilmington, he will look over a team of captive management professionals in various jurisdictions. He will be based in Colorado and report to Richard Klumpp, president, chief executive, and division manager of Wilmington Trust SP Services.

UBS Wealth Management Americas added 11 new financial advisors totaling $1.2 billion in assets under management and $9 million in revenue to its stable.

Joining from Morgan Stanley in Washington DC is the team led by Jason Chandler. The group is composed of Frederick Schultz, Lloyd Seested, David Andreadis, Richard Haskin, Eric Teichberg, and Karen Ben-Shlaush. Together, they have $6 million in T12 and $659 million in AuM. They report to Rod Von Lipsey, the manager for UBS' private wealth management unit.

Stepping in for the Denver Tech Center are Dennis Dougherty and Bryan White, both from Wells Fargo. The duo has a T12 of $1.1 million and AuM of $120 million. They report to John Lester, the complex director.

Completing the list of new hires are Linda Gelson, as first vice president of investments for the Stamford office, John Perillo, for the Troy office, and Randolph Byrd, for the Centerville office. Gelson and Byrd are from Morgan Stanley, while Perillo is from Mercer Allied Co.

Opes Advisors, the California financial services advisory firm, added mortgage advisor Ahmad Ghavi to its Palo Alto office. Ghavi brings over 25 years of experience working with individuals and families in the Silicon Valley area.

New York-headquartered Rockefeller Financial hired Jeffery Moy as head of private equity effective 1 August 2011.

Moy was previously a senior managing director at Liberty Mutual Investment Advisors, where he specialized in alternative market portfolios. In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing Rockefeller's private equity and venture capital program, including the selection and review of third-party managers.

Lincoln Financial Advisors, the financial planning division of Lincoln Financial Group, named Jeremy DiTullio as managing principal of its offices in Cleveland and Akron.

DiTullo previously worked at Ameriprise Financial and New England Financial. At Lincoln, he is responsible for the growing the advisory unit in the said territories.

City National Bank, the wholly-owned banking and trust unit of City National Corporation, named Andrea Scalisi as senior vice president and team leader for private client services in New York.

Scalisi joined from US Trust/Bank of America Private Wealth Management where she spent the last 5 five years working with high net worth clients. At City National, she will be handling financial services for HNW and ultra HNW clients in the city. She reports to Robin Balding, the senior vice president and team manager for private client services.

Legacy Family Office, a southwest Florida based multi-family wealth office, appointed Erica Frye as executive assistant, having previously worked as office manager at Wennsoft, a software integration firm.

UBS Wealth Management Americas nabbed four Merrill Lynch advisors with combined assets under management of $800 million.

Margaret Lech-Loubet is joining UBS’ Beverly Hills, California office, reporting to David Bigler, complex director. She has a T12 of $1.1 million and assets under management of $542 million.

Coming to UBS’ Palm Beach, Florida office from Merrill Lynch are Adrian Davis De Montluzin, Michael Melnyk and Carolyn Smith. The team reports to Philip Jordan, branch manager, and has a T12 of $1 million and assets under management of $258 million.

HSBC Private Bank named Scott Rosser and Diane Wilson as senior vice presidents, based in Beverly Hills, California.

Rosser most recently served as vice president in the wealth and institutional management group at Comerica Bank. Wilson previously worked as a senior vice president at US Trust's private wealth management team.

At HSBC, both will work with high net worth individuals and families and will report to Joanna Lucchesi, regional manager for the US private bank for the Southern California region.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority elected Ken Norensberg and Sallie Krawcheck as governors, to begin their terms immediately.

Chicago-headquartered Ziegler appointed Steve Prew to its Greenwood Village, Colorado wealth management office. Prew returns to the firm after he worked there previously, rejoining from Advisors Asset Management where he was first president of client relations.

Morgan Stanley International Wealth Management named Charlie Mak, currently head of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney for Asia, as its president.

Mak, who started in the wealth management industry 36 years ago, reports to Greg Fleming, president of Morgan Stanley’s wealth and asset management business.

Mak fills a position that was left vacant for several months after Michael Armstrong was put in charge of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's capital markets business in New York.

Rothstein Kass, the professional services firm that caters to high net worth individuals and families, promoted three of its accounting professionals to principals.

Arthur Brown and Kashif Hussain are now principals based in Beverly Hills, while Daniel O'Connor is a principal at the Denver branch. Brown is an accounting and audit professional at Rothstein Kass Financial Services; Hussain is from the Rothstein Kass Commercial Services Group, while O'Connor is from the Financial Services Group.

In other promotions, Henry Jia, from the Financial Services Group, and Robert Levin, from the Rothstein Kass Family Office Group, were made senior directors at the firm.

Washington Wealth Management continued to strengthen its network, appointing Peter Sansevero as branch director for Seattle and Michael Ferrante as branch director for San Diego.

Sansevero previously held key compliance and operations roles at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. At Washington he is charged with establishing new branches in the region and recruiting more advisors to the team.

Ferrante most recently served as branch manager for Morgan Stanley's Palm Desert, California office, as well as the San Diego office.

New York wealth manager Fiduciary Trust Company appointed Paul Napoli to its board of directors and audit committee.

Napoli served at US Trust for 25 years before retiring as vice chairman in 2008. Prior to that, he was vice president and portfolio manager at The Bank of New York.

Threshold Group, the wealth management firm that specializes in families and private family foundations, appointed Ronald Albahary as chief investment officer.

Albahary was previously the CIO at Convergent Wealth Advisors and has held leadership roles at the likes of Schroder Investment Management, SEI, and Merrill Lynch. He succeeds Ernie Ankrim, who served as interim CIO after retiring as chief investment strategist at Russell Investments early this year.

Citizens Republic Bancorp, the Michigan-headquartered bank holding company, announced the retirement of Peter Ronan as executive vice president and wealth management division head, effective 31 March 2012. Ronan joined the company in October 2007.

Taking over his position is Kenneth Duetsche, who became the executive vice president and director of the wealth unit yesterday. Prior to this new post, Duetsch was senior vice president and chief investment officer for the firm.

Citisoft, the Boston-based systems consultancy for investment managers, named Roberta Moore as a director.

Moore is an investment management technology veteran, having been a senior leader of operations and technology departments for firms including Invesco, Columbia Management, and Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Most recently she worked as an independent consultant for a number of investment managers with strategic reviews and implementation programs underway.

HighTower brought in a new advisor team to strengthen its US network.

The Pagnato Karp Group, composed of Paul Pagnato and David Karp, joined the company on 29 July as managing directors and partners. Pagnato previously served on the Merrill Lynch advisory board. Karp also used to work for Merrill Lynch, with a focus on investment policy strategies and customized client portfolios.

Credit Suisse appointed Barbara Reinhard as managing director and chief investment strategist for private banking Americas.

Reinhard joins from OppenheimerFunds, where she served as senior vice president and head of investment communications. In her new role she reports directly to Stewart Brenner, the head of PB Americas wealth management solutions.

First Republic Bank hired Nga Nguyen as a relationship manager for its San Diego branch. Nguyen previously was the vice president for wealth management and private banking at Comerica Bank in San Diego and had worked at Wells Fargo and NationsBank prior to that.

Fogel Neale Partners hired Michael Markiewicz as a partner to serve the financial planning needs of couples in same-sex marriages under its advisory arm, Fogel Neale Wealth Management.

The announcement comes shortly after New York became the sixth US state to legalize gay marriage in June 2011. Prior to Fogel Neale, Markiewicz held key positions at Deloitte & Touche and CBIZ MHM Family Office Services.