RBC Wealth Management Recruits MSSB Trio In PA

Wendy Spires

30 March 2012

RBC Wealth Management has named Scott Karkenny as head of its Conshohocken, PA office, recruiting him from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, where he has spent his entire 20-year career.

Karkenny has some $165 million in HNW client assets under administration.

The firm has also brought senior financial associate Alex Karkenny, and registered client associate Teresa Verone over from MSSB. The trio will continue to work as a team, RBC said.

All three will report to Joe Mooney, head of the Conshohocken branch.

In other recent news at RBC Wealth Management, earlier this month it emerged that it is to acquire the Latin American, Caribbean and African private banking business of Coutts, the wealth division of Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

The business has client assets in excess of $2 billion. The deal, for which terms were not disclosed, is expected to close in the latter part of the second quarter of this year.

The business to be acquired includes clients who reside in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa, as well as key private banking staff based primarily in Geneva, Switzerland and also includes a team in the Cayman Islands, RBC said.

“Our Geneva-based business has built a reputation for serving the often complex needs of emerging market clients,” said Karen Simpson, general manager and head of private banking, Royal Bank of Canada . “This acquisition will enable us to increase our client base significantly in these three important target regions.”

Coutts, meanwhile, said this business has total client assets of £1.5 billion, accounting for only 2 per cent of all its assets.

The firm said the decision to exit the markets “follows a careful strategic review which was initiated earlier last year by Rory Tapner, CEO, wealth division of Royal Bank of Scotland Group.”

Coutts is instead concentrating on geographies including the UK, Switzerland, Middle East, Russia/CIS and selected countries in Asia.