BNP Paribas subsidiary Bank of the West has promoted its senior vice president to chief investment advisor as the firm looks to widen its global wealth management reach.

BNP Paribas subsidiary Bank of the West has promoted its senior vice president to the position of chief investment advisor as the firm looks to further its global wealth management footprint.

As part of BNP Paribas’ global offering, Wade Balliet will join a network of its senior representatives to help provide a global vision for the firm’s asset allocation programmes. The firm’s international connections allow clients both knowledge of global investments, but also put them in touch with teams across the world.

Based in West Denver, Balliet has also been named a member of BNP Paribas’ global investment management teams, the international asset allocation committee, and the BNPP wealth management discretionary management equity committee.

Balliet will lead the Bank of the West’s investment advisory and management team of portfolio managers, who manage the assets of high net worth clients.

Balliet has been with Bank of the West for 13 years, and has helped to develop the investment advisory & management team’s proprietary investment strategies. These strategies have helped the bank’s investment advisory solutions platform to grow 300 per cent in assets under management since its launch two years ago.

San Francisco-headquartered Bank of the West has $60 billion in assets under management and has over 650 offices across the US. To see a story earlier this year about this firm's ambitions in areas such as ultra high net worth business, click here.

(Editor's note: While BNP Paribas has been hit hard by US authorities for violating sanctions against blacklisted nations such as Iran, the Bank of the West business development suggests that the Paris-listed group is still very much committed to the US.)