The wealth and investment management division of Barclays has brought in 16 investment representatives from a host of firms including Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon, US Trust and Credit Suisse, across seven US offices.

New York

Joining the New York office from Deutsche Bank’s markets coverage group is Ramon Hache, a managing director, and directors Stephen Brazell and Joseph Chung.

Hache spent the previous 10 years working with high net worth individuals and family offices based primarily in Latin America. Prior to Deutsche, he was an investment advisor at HSBC and a sales trader in the private banking division of JP Morgan.  

Brazell also served HNW individuals and family offices based mainly in Latin America, having previously served as head of the emerging markets desk at JP Morgan Private Bank.   

Chung formerly advised ultra high net worth clients based in Latin America. Before joining Deutsche’s markets coverage group, he worked within the bank's private wealth management division, which he joined in 2003.

Meanwhile, joining the New York office from Merrill Lynch’s global wealth management unit is Steven Guggenheimer, a director, and vice president George Zaki.

Guggenheimer has over 26 years of wealth management experience, most recently as a senior vice president serving HNW individuals at Merrill. Prior to this, he was a managing director at Neuberger Berman. Zaki was latterly a financial advisor serving HNW individuals, having previously been a client associate at Neuberger Berman.  

Concluding the New York hires is Jonathan Mann, who starts as a director from AllianceBernstein. He has over 29 years of industry experience and was, in his former role, responsible for the overall management of Bernstein Global Wealth Management’s New York region, as well as a senior portfolio manager for Bernstein’s international value team.   

All six of the New York appointees report to Mark Stevenson, managing director and regional manager for New York.

Houston, TX

Barclays has also bolstered its foothold in Texas, bringing in three directors from the private wealth management division of Goldman Sachs. This team reports to Steve Head, managing director and regional manager for Texas.

Don Childress has some 14 years of experience serving HNW clients and families and spent the five years prior to his stint at Goldman Sachs in the tax accounting and investment banking divisions at Price Waterhouse.

Jeff Collins previously worked in real estate development at Austin Capital Partners and has over 15 years of wealth management experience.

Lastly, Neil Stone has about 14 years of experience serving HNW clients and families and has worked within the investment banking division at Prudential Securities and in loan syndication at Texas Commerce Bank, Chemical Bank.   

Beverly Hills, CA

Further west in Beverly Hills, Watt Webb joins Barclays as a director from BNY Mellon, where he was a senior director of portfolio management serving UHNW families, executives, hedge fund managers and business owners. Prior to joining BNY Mellon, Webb was a senior vice president of equity research and portfolio management at Oakwood Capital Management, and a portfolio manager at Cornerstone Investment Counselors.  

Warren Cohn, also a director, joins from US Trust, where he was a senior private client advisor providing wealth planning and financial management services to clients within the entertainment and sports industry.

Webb and Cohn report to Brian Sears, managing director and regional manager for the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills offices.

Los Angeles, CA

Adam Morgens has been appointed as a vice president. He reports to Sears and joins the organization from the institutional sales division of UnionBanc Investment Services, which is the broker-dealer subsidiary of Union Bank.     

Boston, MA

In Boston, Barry Pederson starts as a director, bringing with him 20 years of financial services experience. At his predecessor firms - Morgan Keegan, Sterne Agee & Leach and AG Edwards - he was a partner on the institutional sales and research teams. 

Pedersen reports to Marty Courage, managing director and regional manager for Boston.

Chicago, IL

Meanwhile, in Chicago, Adam Strauss joins as a vice president from the private wealth management division of Goldman Sachs, where he served HNW individuals and families. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2010, Strauss was a managing consultant at Michael Page International. He reports to Bill Scherr, director and regional manager for Chicago.

Miami, FL

Rounding off the hires, Ileana Platt and Rafael Urquidi have been brought in as directors from the private banking division of Credit Suisse.

At Credit Suisse, Platt was a director serving HNW individuals and families in Peru, Mexico, Bolivia and Panama. She has 24 years of industry experience. Urquidi also served HNW clients and families at Credit Suisse. Previously, he held positions at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities and UBS International.   

Platt and Urquidi report to Marilyn Gonzalez, director and regional manager for Miami.

Barclays' Wealth & Investment Management unit has 14 offices across North America including the Barclays Wealth Trustees (US). Yesterday, the firm launched a Beverly Hills office as part of an investment plan for growth in the US.