Wells Fargo branch manager joins RBC

A Wells Fargo branch manager left the wirehouse to join RBC, in the firm’s latest recruiting grab.

RBC tapped Bob Gipp to lead its Raleigh, North Carolina, branch, which the regional broker-dealer considers one of its fastest-growing offices in the southeast.

Gipp's hire follows at least four other poaches from wirehouse firms by RBC over the past two months.

“The firm is definitely in growth mode,” Gipp says. “The opportunity to build a brand here in this marketplace is very appealing.”

RBC Wealth Management’s net income grew by 41% in 2016 following its $5 billion purchase of City National, according to RBC’s annual report. The acquisition, which closed in November 2015, folded the Los Angeles bank known for Hollywood clientele into RBC’s U.S. advisory unit.

Gipp oversees a 10-year-old office with five advisers and two support staff in Raleigh, which falls under RBC's Atlanta region. He declined to state a figure for his assets under management or the overall figure for his new office.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Bob to RBC Wealth Management and know that he will do a fantastic job taking the Raleigh branch to new levels,” Atlanta regional director Chip Anderson said in a statement.

Gipp, 43, left Wells Fargo on Jan. 19, according to a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo. She declined further comment on Gipp’s departure.

He had been at Wells since December 2012, BrokerCheck records show. Prior to that, Gipp worked six years for hedge fund operator Schonfeld Group.

Wirehouse teams with millions of dollars in AUM combined have recently moved to RBC. Just last week the firm snapped up a Merrill Lynch adviser with $164 million in AUM for its Stillwater, Minnesota, office. Groups overseeing more than $800 million in AUM combined also joined the regional firm from UBS and Merrill Lynch in December.

RBC has about 1,800 advisers operating in 200 locations across 40 states manage roughly $279 billion in client assets, company figures show.