The latest senior moves, appointments and personnel changes in North American wealth management. 

Cresset
Cresset has appointed Dheeraj Soni as chief technology officer; most recently, he was MD and head of trading at the firm. Before that, Soni served in senior technology leadership roles at JP Morgan Advisors and First Republic Bank. He has nearly 30 years of leadership experience spanning wealth management, private banking, prime brokerage, asset management, institutional trading, and investment banking.

Soni holds an MBA in finance and completed an executive leadership degree from Wharton School of Business. He also holds FINRA registrations, including Series 7, 24, 63 and 99. 

LPL Financial
LPL Financial said the advisors of HighWater Wealth have joined its broker-dealer and RIA platform, aligned with Quotient Advisor Partners, an existing firm supporting LPL-affiliated advisors. The team, which reported serving about $2.4 billion in advisory assets, was formerly with US Bank. Based in San Diego, HighWater Wealth serves high net worth individuals and families. The team consists of Kristian Forster, Mike Rookus, Falko Hörnicke, Tim Davidson, and Brian Rissman.

LPL also said the financial advisors of Buell Wealth Management have joined LPL Financial’s broker-dealer and RIA platform. The team, which reported serving about $370 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets, has joined from Buell Securities Corporation.

Based in Glastonbury, Connecticut, Buell Wealth Management is led by CEO Chris Berris, who has more than 40 years of industry experience and has served in his leadership role since 1997. 

UBS
UBS has appointed former Morgan Stanley figure Samuel Duckett as a financial advisor in its Austin, Texas office. Duckett, who is joining UBS’s Central region led by Jon Ramey, will report to market executive Tommy Stacy and market director Jeff Bidstrup.

At UBS, Duckett will partner with financial advisor Will Lawes, who joined the firm two years ago.

Akerman
Akerman, a law firm, has appointed Adam von Poblitz, former Citi Private Bank global head of wealth advisory, as a partner and chair of its family office practice, based in Miami.

Von Poblitz brings nearly three decades of experience counseling ultra-high net worth individuals, multigenerational families, private trust companies, and charitable organizations on the complex legal, tax, governance, and succession issues that accompany substantial wealth. 

Before joining Akerman, von Poblitz spent nearly two decades at Citi Private Bank. During his tenure, he also served as global head of cross-border wealth planning, head of Citi Trust North America, and head of estate planning. He was appointed to join Citigoup’s Chairman's Council as a franchise leader and a product leader.

"Adam is a premier advisor in the family office space, with an extraordinary track record guiding families through the preservation, governance, and transfer of significant assets across generations and borders," David Blum, tax practice group chair, said. "Our clients face increasingly complex domestic and international tax, investment, succession, and governance challenges. Adam's experience advising family offices and globally connected families significantly enhances our ability to serve private clients whose needs extend well beyond traditional estate planning."

Before moving in-house, von Poblitz practiced trusts and estates law at prominent New York law firms, where his work encompassed sophisticated estate planning, estate administration, probate and fiduciary litigation, and art law. He regularly presents at industry conferences and professional forums in the US and internationally.

Raymond James 
Raymond James has welcomed financial advisors Richard Knight, Brent Detweiler and Phillip Margy to Raymond James Financial Services (RJFS) – the firm's independent advisor channel.

The team is from Truist Investment Services where they previously managed about $430 million in client assets. Joining the established Fortuna Wealth team at its Melbourne, Florida office, the team provides wealth management, financial planning and investment guidance to business owners, families, individuals, pre-retirees and retirees. They are supported by client services managers Gaye Abramski and Michelle McDonald.