U.S Trust Makes Eight Wealth Appointments

As part of an ongoing spate of new hires over the past few months, Bank of America Corp’s U.S. Trust added eight wealth management executives to its team on Friday in support of its ongoing expansion efforts.

A company spokesperson confirmed that the new hires joined the company between July and August.

The brokerage firm recruited Brian Sharpe from BlackRock Inc to take the market investment executive position in Washington. Also, Brett Rufkahr left TIAA-CREF for a market executive role in the St. Louis area.

Rufkahr carries more than 20 years of industry experience. In this new role, he will manage U.S. Trust products and services in the assigned region reporting to Larry Otto, investment executive. Also, the industry veteran will lead six teams including private client advisors and managers. Rufkahr previously worked at Bank of America for 12 years, according to a company’s press release.

In the past, Sharpe was a vice president and portfolio manager at BlackRock Inc. Now, his sole responsibility will be overseeing portfolio management and investment strategy for U.S. Trust clients in Washington. He reports to Regional Investment Executive Ken Shephard.

Other new additions include David Litvack as a fixed income strategist based in New York, Lynn Maaske, market investment executive in Minneapolis and Richard Hall as a timberland investment advisor in Atlanta.

Prior to this move, Hall coordinated operations for the Farm & Forestry Management Services Company in Brazil.  At U.S Trust, Hall will be responsible for providing investment advisory services to clients who intend to add timberland in their overall investment strategy and other management related needs.

Litvack joins the firm from Fitch ratings where he was a Managing Director in U.S. Public Finance, responsible for program ratings.  He will report to Robert T. McGee, director of macro strategy and research. In his new role, Litvack will trace developments in the municipal market to identify opportunities and risks, publish research on topics affecting municipal credit, and oversee the analysis of the company’s municipal holdings under management.

Maaske, has 30 years of wealth management experience. Most recently she served as a senior wealth advisor for high and ultra high net worth individuals with US Bancorp Investments and Insurance, Inc. At U.S Trust, the industry veteran will lead the client service sector.

Additionally, the firm recruited Carla Jackson as a portfolio manager in St. Louis, David Levin as a senior trust officer in San Francisco, and Tom Tagliarini as a portfolio manager in Tampa, Fla.

Previously, Jackson was a regional development officer for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, where she led sales and marketing initiatives for financial advisors in four states.

Levin joins from Janin, Morgan & Brenner, where he provided legal counsel to wealthy clients, while Tagliarini was a strategic wealth advisor at SunTrust Banks Inc.

“Together, these new hires reflect the firm’s emphasis on hiring the best and most seasoned trust advisors, strategists and managers who understand these complexities and, in a highly personalized way, help clients navigate them to achieve their individual goals,” said Thong Nguyen, west division executive for U.S. Trust.

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