Financial institutions

Sean E. Ekiert has joined Raymond James as a managing director in Richmond, Va.

The financial services industry has one of the hardest glass ceilings for women to break through according to a recent survey from Edward Jones.

Advisors are wary of BNY Mellon's plan to provide private banking services to RIAs.

Stifel nabbed two UBS advisors and opened a new office in Tampa, Fla.

UBS Wealth Management Americas has picked up a financial advisor from regional wealth management firm Hilliard Lyons with $475 million in assets under management.

Are you a wirehouse advisor with at least $93 million in assets under management? Then you are the kind of advisor asset management distributors most want to reach.

Wall Street has contributed less than 2% of New York City’s job growth since the recession ended as cost-cutting efforts have led banks to replace fewer positions than other businesses.

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has tapped rival wirehouses UBS and Wells Fargo for four advisor hiress with $475 million in client assets under management and $4.5 million in production.

The firm appointed Alynn Eubanks, who will be responsible for overseeing the advisory platforms.

Janney has expanded its operations in Washington, D.C. with a two-man team overseeing $142 million in assets.

John Hallacy, a 35-year industry veteran, is retiring as head of municipals research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, he confirmed late Monday.

Part strategist and part cheerleader, Stephen Viets is a three-time Top 10 branch manager. Viets says that the job also requires a diplomat's tact. "It's all about handling insecurities and misunderstanding," he says.

"Change can be difficult even when it's change for the better," RBC's Eric Siber explains. "You have to have a tremendous amount of patience and show good leadership in making sure that everybody is on board and understands the advantages of the new platform and the new company."

The network was launched in September to help breakaway brokers transition from the traditional wirehouse model to independence.

Kirk Mandlin has a simple goal for this year and any year. "To be the best leader, husband, and father I can possibly be," he says. With the power of positive thinking, Mandlin expects to use those strengths to expand his business.

Rob Malenfant worked his way up the ranks at Smith Barney, spending several years in Connecticut, New York, and Los Angeles before returning to Boston as a branch manager. The variety of experiences and people he worked with inspires him now at his Boston Harbor complex, he says.

"A lot of potential clients are already banking [with Umpqua]. For us, the first priority is to make sure we let them know that we're there," Seattle market leader Elise Fortin said in a telephone interview.

This year, the leading wirehouse and regional wealth management firms took the steps necessary to ensure they reap rewards as markets hit new highs.

The best bank managers and best wirehouse managers have a lot in common. While each has the distinct flavor of their respective channels, they are very similar in spirit.

Royal Bank of Canada was ordered to pay more than $800,000 to a U.S. couple over their losses on investments including Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. preferred stock.