Latest moves and appointments in the North America wealth management market.

Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch has appointed Joe Lowery as market executive for the Pacific Islands market. Lowery joined Merrill Lynch in 1995 as a district sales manager in Houston and in 1996, he was appointed market executive for the Gulf Coast market.

He became market executive in Kansas City in 2003 before returning to Houston and serving as the resident director in Galveston in 2011, Merrill Lynch said in a statement.

Lowery received his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas, Austin. He will be relocating to Honolulu, Hawaii.

State Street Global Advisors

State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), has appointed Rakhi Kumar as head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and asset stewardship, reporting to Lynn Blake, chief investment officer for SSGA’s global equity beta solutions, the firm said in a statement.

In this expanded role, Kumar and her team will be responsible for providing socially responsible investment strategies and steward the firm's clients’ assets globally.

Rakhi will lead a team across SSGA’s ESG investments and asset stewardship groups, including Chris McKnett, head of ESG strategists. In this role, Chris will lead a team of ESG strategists responsible for developing product and driving thought leadership content.

Additionally, Matt DiGuiseppe has been appointed as head of the Americas. Most recently, DiGuiseppe managed engagement and proxy voting activities at Nuveen, the asset management division of TIAA.

Raymond James 

Raymond James has appointed financial advisors Keith Bock, Mark Downey and Jason Peterson to its Rochester, New York office which is managed by Jeff Wolk, the firm said in a statement.

The trio, former Wells Fargo advisors who managed more than $300 million in client assets and had almost $2 million in production, will operate as BDP Wealth Management of Raymond James. They are joined by senior registered client service associate Janet Emhof.

Bock, who will be senior vice president of investments, has around 40 years' experience in the industry. He spent 39 years at Bache, which became Prudential, Wachovia and finally Wells Fargo Advisors.

Downey, who will be senior vice president of investments, began his financial services career in 1991 with Prudential-Bache which ultimately became Wells Fargo Advisors.

Peterson, who will become vice president of investments, began his career in 2004 with Merrill Lynch in its financial advisor training program, and moved to Wells Fargo two years later. In 2008, he joined the team with Bock and Downey.