Here are two weeks' worth of moves in the North American wealth management industry; it was a busy period for firms such as BoA Merrill Lynch, BNY Mellon and Dynasty, among others.

Northern Trust appointed Clint Zweifel as chief operating officer at its St Louis, MO, wealth office.  Zweifel - formerly Missouri State Treasurer since 2009 - has businesses development duties throughout the state and reports to Thomas Collins, head of the St Louis branch. Before his stint as Missouri State Treasurer, Zweifel was a member of the State House of Representatives from 2002 until 2009.

Northern Trust also recruited Melanie Pickett as head of front office solutions. This is a new line of business within asset servicing that addresses the operational and technology needs of complex asset allocators - such as foundations and family offices - globally. Pickett has around 15 years of experience in senior operations and technology roles, most recently as chief operating officer at Emory Investment Management. She also spent over a decade managing operations and technology strategy for Morgan Stanley’s global wealth division. 

The former Westchester Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors and Legacy Group of Morgan Stanley linked up to launch Cognetic Capital Advisors through HighTower. Co-founders Joel Talish, chief executive, and John Buffa, managing director, lead the new team, which manages $1 billion in assets and is based in New York City. Buffa and Talish spent the previous 19 and 10 years at Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, respectively.

Raymond James appointed financial advisor Suzanne LaTour to its San Diego, California office, according to David Richman, branch manager of the firm's San Diego complex. LaTour joined the Florida-based firm from Merrill Lynch, where she previously managed more than $100 million in client assets and have around $850,000 in annual production. She started her financial services career in 1988 in sales before joining the then-Morgan Stanley Smith Barney as a financial advisor in 1993.

Dynasty Financial Partners appointed Joseph Rizzo as director of Registered Investment Advisor growth strategies, based in New York and reporting to Dynasty’s chief executive, Shirl Penney. Rizzo previously was president at Steward Partners Consulting Solutions. 

Maryland-headquartered EagleBank, which provides a range of services including investment advice, appointed Leslie Ludwig to its board of directors. Ludwig is a partner and chairperson of the management committee at The JBG Companies, and has over 30 years of experience in real estate finance and capital markets. She oversees the management of finance, accounting, human resources, insurance and marketing, and provides leadership on JBG's diversity initiatives.  Prior to joining The JBG Companies in 2002, she was senior vice president at Wachovia Bank. 

Jenny Bratt joined the law firm Withers as a partner in San Diego, CA, from DLA Piper. Bratt's areas of expertise include US and international trust and estate planning, as well as tax advice, charitable giving and advising families on their business structures.  

BNY Mellon Wealth Management appointed Rachel Brasso as a senior wealth manager and fiduciary specialist within its San Francisco office. Prior to joining the New York-based firm, Brasso spent more than four years with BNP Paribas-owned Bank of the West as a vice president and senior fiduciary specialist. Earlier in her career, she also served as a trust officer with Merrill Lynch, where she provided clients with trust-specific, tax and investment services, BNY Mellon WM said in a statement. In her new role, Brasso reporta to regional president Amy Millma.

RBC Wealth Management appointed Bob Gipp as branch director of its Raleigh office, according to Chip Anderson, director of the firm's Atlanta complex. Gipp joined from Wells Fargo Advisors with four years' industry experience. In his new role, he will oversee one of RBC's offices in the Southeast of the US.

Deutsche Bank Wealth Management appointed Mike Isikow as head of private markets within its global products and solutions group - a new role at the firm. Based in New York, Isikow will lead a global team that provides illiquid assets - such as private equity and co-investments - across all asset classes to ultra high net worth clients. He joined from Credit Suisse Wealth Management, where he most recently led the private equity product management team. Earlier, he worked at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, as well as at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and JP Morgan.

US-headquartered investment advisory firm FL Putnam Investment Management appointed Abby Psyhogeos as senior vice president and private client advisor. She will be based in Portland, Maine.
Psyhogeos joined from Bainco International Investors, a registered investment advisor, where she spent nearly 30 years working with high net worth clients, serving as president and managing director of portfolio strategy.
 

BNY Mellon Wealth Managemen promoted Peter Wilson, formerly an associate wealth manager at the firm, to the position of wealth manager in Delaware. Before serving three years as an associate at the wealth management arm of BNY Mellon, Wilson worked within its asset servicing business. He joined in 2010 when BNY Mellon acquired PNC Global Investment Services. Wilson is based in Greenville and reports to team leader Gregg Landis, Wilson provides wealth and investment planning services for the firm’s clients in Delaware.

Merrill Lynch appointed Adam Schur, formerly of Morgan Stanley, as a financial advisor within its White Plains, New York office. During his last year at Morgan Stanley, Schur had $850 million in assets under management and a production value of $2 million. In total, he has spent nine years with the Wall Street giant. 

RBC Wealth Managementrecruited financial advisor Greg Lunak to join its Stillwater, Minnesota office, according to Bill Kohn, director of the branch. Lunak has more than 15 years' industry experience and joins from Merrill Lynch, where he manages $164 million in assets under administration and has more than $1 million in production.

Wells Fargo Asset Management appointed Nicolaas Marais as president, operating both from California and the UK. In this role, is responsible for tasks including multi-asset class solutions, research, and product management. He reports to Kristi Mitchem, chief executive and head of WFAM. The role is a newly-created one. Most recently, Marais was head of multi-asset investments and portfolio solutions for Schroders, the UK-listed investment house and private bank. 

California-based Manhattan West Asset Management, an RIA firm, said that OC Isaac, formerly of VEDC (Valley Economic Development Corp), had become a shareholder and managing director, reuniting with erstwhile colleagues. The size of his shareholding wasn't disclosed. The former President of VEDC rejoined former members of VEDC’s executive and credit management team. The company also added Angela Stanislawski, former vice president of operations, Nilima Kapoor, former director of special assets and Michael Oberlitner, former VEDC Chief Credit Officer, Manhattan West said. At VEDC, Isaac was the head of East Coast operations and national strategic initiatives.

Raymond James subsidiary Alex.Brown appointed Stephen Pryor as regional executive of its Boston office, according to Brett Kellam, the latter firm's Northeast regional director. Pryor kick-started his career with Merrill Lynch as an advisor trainee in 1991 in Virginia before spending more than two years with Smith Barney as a financial advisor and then two more with Morgan Stanley. In 1998, he joined Prudential Securities, first as a trainee manager and then sales manager, regional development manager and ultimately as a branch manager in Carmel, California. Pryor also spent a stint at RBC Wealth Management. In his new role, he succeeded former Boston regional executive, Frank McGrail, who transferred to Alex.Brown's Lower Manhattan office where he oversees the firm's Central region operations.

Raymond James recruited financial advisor James Perry Jr to its Huntington, West Virginia office, according to Bill Theis, the firm's Mid-American complex manager. Perry joined the US-based firm from Hilliard Lyons, where he had been affiliated with since 1994 and had managed more than $100 million in client assets, primarily serving high net worth individuals and families. He began his financial services career in 1987 as a trust officer with a community bank in Huntington.

Atlantic Trust appointed Kishore Setty and Scott Thompson as head of its New York and Atlanta offices, respectively. Setty, formerly a managing director, joined the firm in 2014 and has served as co-head of its New York office for the past year. He continues to serve as a senior relationship manager, tailoring investment portfolios to high net worth individuals, family offices, foundations and endowments. Prior to joining the company, Setty was a portfolio manager at US Trust.

BNY Mellon appointed Brian Moroz as regional director for private banking serving clients in New York, Western Connecticut, New Jersey and Long Island. Moroz is based in New York and reports to William E Johnston, head of the firm’s private banking solutions group. Previously, Moroz worked for 12 years at Wells Fargo where he was most recently regional private banking manager and senior vice president in Charlotte, North Carolina. There he led a team of private bankers and oversaw a $1 billion loan portfolio and $1.1 billion in deposits. 

Advisor Group, the US network of independent financial advisory firms, appointed Steve Chipman as senior vice president of strategic acquisitions. Chipman works with Jamie Price, Advisor Group's president and chief executive and the four firm presidents, leading the strategic planning process for all broker/dealer acquisitions. Chipman reports to Jeff Auld, the president and CEO of SagePoint Financial.