RBC hires former Russell Investments exec to head consulting unit

RBC Wealth Management has been recruiting advisors at a frenzied pace, and now it’s looking to beef up support for those new hires.

The regional firm has brought on Nate Angelo to head up its wealth management consulting unit, a division that helps to service RBC's 1,800 advisors as they work with clients on goals-based planning needs.

“Our main focus is on investing in people and technology in order to enhance the advisor-client experience,” Michael Armstrong, CEO of RBC Wealth Management-U.S., said in a statement. “Nate and his team will be critical to giving our financial advisors the tools and support they need to bring relationships with clients to a new level.”

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Angelo comes from Columbia River Advisors, which merged with his own firm, Chambers Bay Advisors, in 2016. Prior to that, Angelo was director of National Accounts at Russell Investments, where he worked for 11 years.

"I am excited about the opportunity to continue to build and structure the wealth management consulting teams to increase our success in helping financial advisors deliver personalized advice to clients," he said in a statement.

He joins RBC as the firm has ramped up broker recruiting.

Since the Department of Labor first flagged conflict of interest concerns over recruiting practices in October 2016, wirehouses have reined in the practice of attracting advisors with rich contracts. Nearly a year later, regional firms such as RBC have filled in a recruiting void.

Earlier this month, RBC announced that it had hired HighTower executive Michael Parker as a head of advisor recruiting. The firm hired more advisors in the first half of this year than it did in all of 2016, according to a spokeswoman.

“RBC has been hitting the cover off the ball” in terms of recruiting, says Howard Diamond, managing director of recruiting firm Diamond Consultants. But attracting advisors and retaining them are often two different games, he says. To keep talent, Diamond sees a need for firms to invest in the technology, services and support that help advisors grow their business.

“It’s easy to attract an advisor with a large recruiting package,” he said. “The trick is keeping them."