Harris myCFO, based in Chicago, has hired John Benevides as president of its family office services division. He was previously president of the Family Office Exchange, an organization that serves 150 multi-family offices and advisors, representing more than 350 families.
The way Benevides sees it, Harris myCFO is both a leading player and one that will have longevity as the family office sector undergoes change.
“There is going to be a lot of movement in the industry,” Benevides said in a phone interview. “Many advisors have a median pre-tax profit margin 11% to 15%. If you take what happened across last 3 years, those margins got hit hard.” That means consolidation is a likely outcome for many family office firms, Benevides said.
The firm provides wide-ranging services, including estate planning, philanthropic services, tax preparation all the way down to accounting services like balance sheets and bill paying. Benevides’ responsibilities will stop just shy of investment management. For that, the company brought on Craig Rawlins as president of its Investment Advisory Services unit, last November.
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Barclays Wealth has appointed David Lewis as a managing director and head of banking, Americas, a newly created position. Lewis will lead the continued build out of the firm’s regional banking products and services. Previously, Lewis was head of banking products, Americas, for UBS, and had been president and chief executive officer of ING Mortgage.
Capital Investment Companies, based in Raleigh, N.C., has added four financial advisors who will be based throughout North and South Carolina. Bob Andrews will be based in Wilson, N.C.; Bob Blaser will work from Mooresville, N.C.; Jim Foushee will be in Columbia, S.C.; and Mike Ramey will be in Franklin, N.C.
Christopher H. Tovar has joined Hertz Schram PC, based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., as a partner in its securities practice. Tovar was general counsel and chief compliance officer for Investment Professionals, a San Antonio, Texas-based broker-dealer.
JHS Capital Advisors has appointed Tom M. Mack as a managing director of the firm’s wealth management division, responsible for working with clients and recruiting advisors for its southeast region. Mack had been senior vice president at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.
Reliance Trust Co., based in Atlanta, has hired Kent Buckles to lead a new unit to address the fiduciary risks of qualified retirement plans, public company stock funds, ESOP transactions and stable value funds. Previously, Buckles had been chief executive officer of Invesmart, Inc. The group also expects to add at least two additional staff in the coming weeks.
Symetra Life Insurance Co., based in Bellevue, Wash., appointed Richard LaVoice as executive vice president of sales and distribution for its annuity products. LaVoice will also be responsible for Symetra Investment Services, the company’s broker dealer. LaVoice served as corporate vice president and national sales manager of Retirement Income at MassMutual Financial Group.
