February is the shortest month of the year but produced a fair crop of senior moves and appointments across the continent's wealth management space.

Oregon-based Price Financial Group, the wealth manager, aligned with Carson Partners. Price Financial’s CEO is Bo Caldwell and chief investment officer is Matt Mai. 

Wealthtech firm AssetMark named Natalie Wolfsen as its new CEO and Michael Kim as the new president. They took over from Charles Goldman, who left as president and chief executive. 

Wolfsen, who most recently served as AssetMark’s executive vice president and chief solutions officer, brought to her new position more than 25 years of experience in investment product management, investments, digital product development and marketing.

Kim most recently served as executive vice president and chief client officer at AssetMark. Kim brought to this role more than 25 years of experience working with financial advisors in various capacities, including 10 years at AssetMark. 

PIMCO said that its head of Asia-Pacific, Kimberley Stafford, moved to the firm’s Newport Beach office in the US as global head of its product strategy group. In her new role, Stafford oversees traditional strategies and alternatives, which include PIMCO’s private strategies and hedge funds. Stafford has been a member of PIMCO’s executive committee for five years. As part of the change, Alec Kersman, managing director, became PIMCO’s new Asia-Pacific boss. Kersman is head of strategic accounts in US Global Wealth Management. Both report to Emmanuel Roman, PIMCO’s chief executive.

David Fisher, MD and head of traditional product strategies, became co-head of US GWM Strategic Accounts alongside Eric Sutherland, MD and president of PIMCO Investments LLC. Fisher, who has spent 13 years as a leader in the product strategy group and also serves as a trustee of PIMCO Closed End Funds, relocated to the New York office. He and Sutherland report to Gregory Hall, MD and head of US GWM.  Ryan Korinke, head of hedge fund and quantitative strategies, based in Hong Kong, joined PIMCO’s executive office in Newport Beach. He reports to Roman.

Altruist, a US tech platform for registered investment advisors, tapped former TD Ameritrade national managing director Peter Dorsey to be its new chief strategy and revenue officer. The result is a coup for Altruist, which appointed a man who was involved in a firm that had reached $650 billion of assets under management over 10 years. 

Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Thomas P Feddo joined Capstone, a global policy and regulatory due diligence firm, as a senior advisor. Feddo most recently served until January 2021 as the first Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security. Before his Senate confirmation in September 2019, Feddo served in the Treasury Department as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Investment Security. 

Cetera said Paul Weinberger, a full-service investment and tax professional based in Clearwater, Florida, affiliated with it. Weinberger, who has more than 25 years' experience in financial services, supports $123 million in assets under management.

Wealth Enhancement Group, which oversees more than $26 billion in client assets, said that Kunal Kapoor, chief executive of Morningstar, had joined its board of directors. Kapoor joined Morningstar in 1997 as a data analyst and rose through a series of successively more senior management positions, including director of mutual fund research, director of business strategy for international operations and president and chief investment officer of Morningstar Investment Services. He assumed the role of CEO in 2017, succeeding Joe Mansueto, who founded Morningstar in 1984.

Cleveland Financial Group® appointed John Nelson as a financial planner; he is based in the firm’s new Akron, Ohio office, and also works with clients across Northern Ohio.

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Advisor Group formed its National Advisory Board, made up of 12 financial professionals across its community. Debra Brennan Tagg, president of BFS Advisory Group, serves as the NAB's inaugural chair, while Erinn Ford, EVP, Advisor Engagement, serves as the NAB's executive sponsor.

The founding members of the NAB include:
Debra Brennan Tagg of BFS Advisory Group (Dallas, Texas); 
Brian Heapps of Innovative Financial Group (Nashville, Tennessee); 
Kevin Myeroff of NCA Financial Planners (Mayfield Heights, Ohio); 
Dean Harman of Harman Wealth Management (The Woodlands, Texas); 
Aaron Titze of GT Financial Advisors (Woodbury, Minnesota); 
Mary Sterk of Sterk Financial Services (Dakota Dunes, South Dakota); 
Mike Rees of Bay View Capital Advisory Group, Inc (St Petersburg, Florida); 
Chad Parmenter of Mirus Planning (Kirkland, Washington); 
Kim Kropp of Moylan Kropp (Omaha, Nebraska); 
Vince Morris of OneDigital Investment Advisors (Overland Park, Kansas); 
Melanie Anderson of Financial Counseling Company (Evanston, Illinois); and 
Chuck Walker of Cornerstone Wealth Management (Trinity, Florida).

New York-listed Comerica, a financial group that provides wealth management, appointed Juan Rodriguez as chief information security officer.  Rodriguez, who reports to chief technology and operations services officer Megan Crespi, joined the bank on February 16. He is based at Comerica's technology headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Prior to this, Rodriguez was chief information security officer at NatWest Markets for 10 years. Before that, he worked in the healthcare, insurance and government industries. From 2007 to 2009, he led enterprise-wide projects for T-Systems North America, Inc. For eight years, he served as information security officer for American Skandia, a Prudential Financial, Inc company, after beginning his career at Tyco Healthcare Group and Lockheed Martin IMS.

Hightower named two new board members: Lisa Dolly, former Pershing chief executive and wealth management industry veteran, and Darrell Horn, CEO of Green Square Wealth Management, a Hightower advisory business. Bob Oros, Hightower's CEO and board member, took on the additional role of chairman. Dolly has had several leadership roles in her 31 years at Pershing, including CEO, chief operating officer, head of managed investments, chief administrative officer and head of global operations. She has also served on the board of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and on DTCC cross-industry committees. 

AmeriTrust, part of Argent Financial Group, announced that Kenny Brown Jr had been promoted to senior vice president and chief operating officer. Brown reports to Harvie Roe, AmeriTrust CEO. Brown joined AmeriTrust in 2017 as assistant vice president and portfolio manager and was named vice president of business development in 2019. Prior to AmeriTrust, he spent four years at AmeriTrust in Oklahoma City - also part of Argent Financial Group - as a portfolio manager and a vice president and relationship manager. He also served for five years as a financial and investment analyst at GuideStone Financial Resources in Dallas, Texas.

UK-listed CIBC, the Canada-based group providing services including wealth management, announced that Larry D Richman was stepping down and retiring from the CIBC Bancorp USA board of directors. Richman spent his entire 40-year career in Chicago, including 25 years at LaSalle Bank, ultimately joining The PrivateBank as its president and chief executive officer in 2007. Richman joined CIBC in 2017 through its acquisition of The PrivateBank, serving as a member of the CIBC Bancorp USA board of directors as well as president and CEO of CIBC Bank USA and group head for CIBC US. In 2019, he moved into his current role as chair for the US bank.

Alison Davis was named as a non-executive board director at Janus Henderson, where she serves on the audit committee, the nominating and corporate governance committee, and the risk committee.

Based in the US, Davis has significant governance experience having served on boards of both public and private companies. She is also an active investor as co-founder and managing partner of Fifth Era Financial, which invests in early-stage companies. From 2004 to 2010, she was the managing partner of Belvedere Capital, a bank-holding and private equity firm focused on investing in US banks and financial services firms. Before that Davis was chief financial officer of Barclays Global Investors (now BlackRock), and spent 14 years as a consultant and advisor to Fortune 500 CEOs, boards and executive teams at McKinsey, and as a practice lead with A T Kearney.

Baird, said that The WillowPointe Group had joined it in a new branch in Cookeville, Tennessee. Formerly with UBS, the five-person team includes Lawrence Taylor, who joined Baird as a director and financial advisor, and Steve Boots, who served as a senior vice president and financial advisor. They are supported by Rachel Dalton, associate financial advisor; Amy Ray, senior client specialist; and Amber Underwood Taylor, client assistant. 

Arnerich Massena, an investment firm based in Portland, Oregon. appointed Reegan Rae as chief executive. Rae, who has been with the firm for nearly a decade and most recently led its wealth management division, serves in this role alongside co-CEO Bryan Shipley. Shipley, who has been a co-CEO for over a year and has served as co-chief investment officer for four years, took on the role of sole CIO.

Cornerstone Wealth Group promoted two of its executives, Cliff Hodge and Jeff Powell, to the status of partner. Hodge, chief investment officer, oversees all aspects of investment due diligence with a focus on asset allocation research, security analysis, manager due diligence and portfolio construction. Based in Huntersville, Hodge leads the firm's investment committee and partners with committee members on investment strategies.

Powell is a wealth advisor based in Cornerstone Wealth's Aiken, South Carolina office. He is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) with two decades of financial services experience. His expertise includes investment management, financial and retirement planning, and estate and tax strategies. 

T Rowe Price, the listed asset manager, named Rob Sharps as president and Céline Dufétel as chief operating officer. Sharps continues to serve as head of investments and group chief investment officer. Dufétel continues as chief financial officer and treasurer.

Foundation Source, which serves private foundations, named Sunil Garga as president and chief executive, taking over from Susan Friedlander Calzone, who led the company as CEO for the last five years.

Goodman Financial, based in Houston, Texas, hired Steven J VanNostrand CFP ® fulfilling the role of senior financial advisor. Prior to this role, VanNostrand was a wealth management advisor at TIAA for five years. Before that, he spent six years at Chase Bank and Bank of America in both branch management and client relationship management roles. He has more than 11 years of experience in the financial services industry. 

Steward Partners Global Advisory, the wealth management partnership linked with Raymond James, welcomed Webster Grosso Wealth Management to its partnership roster.  The new firm is led by Ron Webster and Ed Grosso, a team of advisors with around $163 million in assets under management. Based in Richmond, Virginia, both of the firm's principals spent the bulk of their careers with Wells Fargo Advisors and its predecessor companies.

Turing Technology, which licences its tech to investment management, insurance, brokerage, RIA, and wealth firms, appointed Charles Larkin to join its board of directors. Larkin has been involved with the firm since 2018. His background has primarily been in private equity, including his role as founding partner of Webster Capital, a private equity firm in which he was involved for 16 years. Since stepping back from Webster Capital in 2017, Larkin has spent his time as an executive coach and strategy consultant for asset management and not-for-profit firms. 
 

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Chubb, the insurer, appointed Michael Mollica to be in charge of its private/not-for-profit management liability business within its North America financial lines business. Mollica succeeded Leigh Anne Sherman, who was appointed as division president of ESIS, a Chubb company, and a third-party claims administrator. 

Stephen Troiano succeeded Mollica; he leads the US retail financial institutions management liability business. Mollica and Troiano report to Steven F Goldman, Chubb Group and division president, North America financial lines.

Vontobel Asset Management appointed Kristin Fenik as relationship manager to support US West Coast institutional investors. Fenik has more than 16 years of industry experience in consultant relations and engagement with institutional clients, including RIA and high net worth investors. 

UBS Private Wealth Management in Los Angeles recruited a seven-person team - “The Legacy Multi-Family Group” - based in Century City. The team, led by Patrick Schaffer and Ryan Bristol, joined UBS following nine years at JP Morgan Private Bank, where they built a $6.5 billion business focusing on high net worth families, individuals, foundations, and privately held businesses. The team includes financial advisors Barry Peterson, Corey Mazza and Dhanesh Bharvani, relationship manager Basel Sbeini, and senior wealth strategy associate Shauna Kohanchi.

The Pacific Financial Group, an RIA, added Matt Hamilton as president, and Gary Manguso joined the company as chief investment strategy and product officer. Hamilton was previously VP of model portfolios at Fidelity Institutional. Manguso led strategic and tactical teams for more than 25 years. Most recently, he was vice president of product strategy at FTJ FundChoice where he focused on investment strategy development.

New Jersey-based Round Table Wealth Management, expanded its Florida office in Boca Raton, arguing that an influx of people into the state is an important business opportunity. The firm hired two team members: Marianne Rodriquez CFP® and Anthony Rosetti CFA as RTWM directors.

US Bank appointed Scott Ford to join its “wealth management affluent” business. Ford brought more than two decades of industry experience. He comes from JP Morgan Chase, where he served as a regional director, wealth management, overseeing the New York market. Prior to this, Ford held leadership positions at Citibank’s wealth management division. 

CAPTRUST Financial Advisors, the RIA, added Sacramento, California-based Genovese Burford & Brothers Wealth & Retirement Plan Management, a firm with $3.13 billion in assets under advisement. GBB was founded in 1987 by Mike Genovese and Lon Burford. In addition to Genovese and Burford, GBB is led by chief executive Alex Brown and partner Kelly Brothers. 

BNY Mellon Wealth Management appointed Kevin May as senior client strategist in Newport Beach, California. May supports the client relationship experience, which includes starting relationships and delivering solutions to achieve investment goals. He reports to Orange County-based regional president, Edward Mora. May previously worked at Bessemer Trust, where he served as a VP. Previous roles included VP of global wealth investment management at US Trust, as well as regional associate for Brandes Investment Partners. May is also an armed service veteran who served in the US Navy as a petty officer in the Iraq campaign.

Raymond James welcomed Brian T Cain to Raymond James & Associate’s Eastern division. (RJA is the firm’s employee advisor channel.) Cain served as managing director and complex manager, overseeing three RJA complexes (groups of branches) across Long Island and Northern New Jersey. Before this post, Cain was at UBS, where he spent the last 21 years. He joined UBS in 1999 as a financial advisor.

Guggenheim Investments appointed John Andrews as a regional vice president. Andrews is responsible for wirehouse and regional broker-dealer sales in Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. Andrews joined after spending more than 13 years at Allianz Global Investors where he served in multiple roles, most recently as external investment consultant since 2011. He joined Allianz Global Investors in 2007 as an internal wholesaler with PIMCO and later became a retirement sales specialist in 2009.

US-based Advisor Group, the network of wealth management firms, appointed Erinn Ford to the newly-created position of executive vice president, advisor engagement. Ford, a 30-year veteran of the wealth management industry, is former CEO of Advisor Group subsidiary KMS Financial, and the former president of Cetera Advisors. In her new role, Ford reports to Greg Cornick, Advisor Group's president for advice and wealth management.

San Francisco-based Robertson Stephens Wealth Management extended its US footprint by opening an office in Houston, Texas. Financial advisor, Christopher Knapp, joined as managing director and principal, bringing with him about $200 million in assets. Knapp previously served as CEO for Collaboration Capital, which he founded in 2016, with a specific focus on environmental, social and governance-driven investment. Before this, he served as CEO and co-founder of Chilton Capital Management. He was also formerly associated with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Knapp is joined by colleagues Annelise Bovet, Gary Fitzgerald, Ron Lerner and Anne Robertson.

Key Private Bank appointed Brian Pietrangelo as managing director of investment strategy. In this newly-created role, he works on developing communication and collaboration of the bank’s Investment Center and all client-facing segments in its wealth management business. He is based at the bank's headquarters in Cleveland and reports to George Mateyo, chief investment officer at Key Private Bank.

Pietrangelo has more than 25 years of experience in leadership, investment strategy and consulting, client relationship management and product development. He joined from Charles Schwab Retirement Plan Services where he was a member of its extended leadership team. Prior to that, he has had consulting roles with Merrill Lynch and Willis Towers Watson. 

CIBC appointed the following CIBC Private Wealth, US professionals: William Norris, team executive of the firm’s Boston office; J Kent Nossaman, Jr, team executive in Denver, and Bas Solleveld, team executive in Houston. 

Oakworth Capital Bank, which provides private banking, wealth management and other services, announced that its founding chairman Samuel E Upchurch Jr had retired, and was replaced by chief executive Scott B Reed. Upchurch continued as an active member of the company’s board, Oakworth and its parent company, Oakworth Capital.