People Moves
New York Life
The mutual life insurer has named Craig DeSanto and Matt Grove as co-chief operating officers.
They will report to chairman and chief executive Ted Mathas.
DeSanto assumes responsibility of New York Life Investment Management in addition to his current responsibilities for the strategic insurance businesses and retail annuities.
Grove, who oversees the company’s retail life, service, technology, marketing and business planning areas, will be responsible for the agency distribution system.
In addition, Mark Madgett, head of agency, has been promoted to executive vice president, reporting to Grove.
Sanctuary Wealth
Vince Fertitta will join Sanctuary Wealth as president of wealth management from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
He previously served as division executive of Merrill’s Texas mountain south division.
UBS Financial Services
Kristin Popovic has been promoted to branch manager of the Indianapolis office.
She is the office’s first-ever female branch manager in the US.
Popovic will be responsible for overseeing 72 employees and $4.9bn (£3.88bn, €4.4bn) in assets.
For the past four years, Popovic has been the assistant market head for UBS Ohio Indy market.
With Popovic’s promotion, Jon Ramey will maintain his role as market head for Indiana and Dayton, Ohio, with the added responsibility of the Cincinnati market.
Bernstein Private Wealth Management (Bernstein)
The wealth management unit of AllianceBernstein has appointed Daniel Weisman as vice president and financial adviser of its Nashville office.
Weisman will report to managing director Adam Sansiveri, who recently relocated to the city to lead the office.
In this role, Weisman will advise individuals on a range of financial planning and investment matters.
Prior to joining Bernstein, he spent more than a decade as an entrepreneur and adviser in the music industry, most recently as an executive artist manager at Jay Z’s Roc Nation.
Rockefeller Capital Management
The financial services firm has hired Bruce Tenenbaum as managing director at Rockefeller Global Family Office in San Francisco – he brings with him his team which operates under the banner Tenenbaum Group.
Bruce joins from UBS, where he focused on wealth planning and investment management services for some of the wealthiest individuals and families in the Pacific northwest.
Prior to UBS, he spent nearly 16 years in private wealth management at Goldman Sachs.
Andy Lam joins Bruce at Rockerfeller having previously worked with him at UBS in the Tenenbaum Group.
FineMark National Bank & Trust
The Florida-based firm has hired Wendy Kopp as senior vice president of private wealth in Charlestown.
Kopp will develop new relationships, while overseeing existing trust and investment relationships in the local market.
Prior to joining FineMark, Kopp was a senior manager at Capital Group Companies in Atlanta as investment counsellor for its private client services group.
John Brittingham has also joined the Charlestown office as vice president and private wealth adviser with responsibility for developing relationships and managing client assets.
Prior to FineMark, he was a director at Quinlan Partners, a Charleston-based investigational research firm serving hedge funds and private equity firms.
Fiduciary Trust
The wholly-owned wealth management subsidiary of Franklin Templeton has named Anna Soliman as trust counsel of its Los Angeles office.
Soliman was most recently an associate in the tax and wealth department at law firm Venable in Los Angeles, where her responsibilities included crafting and preparing estate plans and business succession plans for high net worth individuals.
Venable
The law firm has hired Kevin Ghassomian as a partner in its tax and wealth planning practice in both the New York and Los Angeles offices.
Ghassomian focuses his practice on the personal legal needs of business owners, corporate executives, high net worth individuals and their families.
He previously worked in the New York City headquarters of a global investment company, where he counselled a multinational client base on complex wealth management matters, including foreign and domestic trust planning and related asset allocation strategies.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Allianz
The German insurance firm’s digital investment unit has invested $100m in Canadian robo-adviser Wealthsimple.
A member of Allianz X will be joining the Wealthsimple board.
Wealthsimple will use the capital to deepen its customer relationships by further developing its existing services and evolving its B2B platform for advisers and institutions.
Focus Financial Partners
The wealth management network has agreed to acquire Williams, Jones & Associates (Williams Jones), an independent registered investment adviser with offices in New York City and Palm Beach.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019 and the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Williams Jones is an investment advisory firm that provides wealth management services to high net worth individuals, families, endowments and foundations.
The firm will continue to be led by founder William Jones Jr along with its 12 partners.
Bartlett & Co Wealth Management (Bartlett)
The partner firm of wealth manager Focus Financial has agreed to acquire Chicago-based registered investment adviser Lodestar Investment Counsel.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019 and the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 1989, Lodestar provides wealth and investment management services primarily to high net worth clients.
Lodestar’s principals – Bob Dearborn, Peter Flanzer, Mickey Herst, Krista Linn and Ed Ruthman – will join Cincinnati-based Bartlett as managing directors at closing and lead the combined firm’s Chicago office.
Dakota Wealth Management
The independent investment management firm has agreed to acquire Springside Partners, a female-founded and operated wealth management firm in Akron, Ohio.
Carina Diamond, founder and chief executive of Springside Partners, will join Dakota Wealth as chief client experience officer, responsible for advising her own clients and for overseeing client service for all advisers at the firm.
She will also serve on the firm’s executive committee.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
New Business
KDK Private Wealth Management
A Houston-based private wealth adviser has launched a registered investment advisory firm and multi-family office.
Kamden Kanaly’s firm will offer wealth planning and investment advice services to a community of families in Texas and across the US.
Prior to KDK, Kanaly was at Morgan Stanley and Mercer Advisors.
