RBC forges ahead on recruiting push, hires $231M UBS team

RBC Wealth Management is continuing its recruiting streak, adding to its Tucson, Arizona office by nabbing an advisory team handling $231 million in assets under management from rival firm UBS.

"Coming off one of our strongest years ever in recruiting, it’s clear that RBC Wealth Management is the firm of choice for advisors who appreciate being a name, not a number, within a community committed to growing the U.S. wealth management business," Michael Parker, RBC's new head of advisor recruiting, says.

The Langer Wealth Management Group is comprised of Allen Langer, an advisor with 38 years of industry experience, and J. Fredrick Martinez, an advisor who has 14 years of experience.

They made the switch for RBC's "unique small-firm culture," Langer said in a statement.

Cole Burston/Bloomberg

Langer spent 29 years with UBS, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records. Prior to that he was with E.F Hutton for five years and spent three years with Prudential-Bache Securities.
Before joining UBS, where he spent 12 years, Martinez worked for Banc One Securities for a year.

Also joining the team from UBS is Marnie Rose, senior registered client associate.

UBS declined to comment on the move.

A representative of the Langer Wealth Management Group wasn’t immediately available for additional comment on the team's change in employment.

RBC’s newest hire is just the latest in a line of advisors that have joined the regional firm as it increases broker headcount. For instance, RBC recently grabbed a $610 million team from Merrill Lynch and a father-son-team managing $395 million from Wells Fargo.

These jumps have occurred against the backdrop of a shifting recruiting environment, with Morgan Stanley exiting the Broker Protocol. The 2004 accord regulates recruiting moves, ensuring that advisors can make an orderly transition from one firm to the next.

Morgan Stanley’s abrupt exit has industry insiders wondering if the other wirehouses will follow suit.