U.S., Swiss Firms Open Office In Spain
Southern Trust Securities Holding Corp., has opened offices in Spain as part of a joint venture with Swiss Financial Group International Private Wealth Management (IPWM), SA.
The new joint venture company, IPWM, Espana S.A. (IPWM Spain), is owned 50% by STSHC and 50% by the Swiss Financial Group IPWM, SA. IPWM Spain has been established to capitalize on the growing wealth management and private banking market in Spain. The new company will focus on developing retail banking, corporate banking, private wealth management and brokerage businesses. The offices are in Barcelona, San Sebastian and Marbella.
STSHC's CEO Robert Escobio says Spain is a growing market for the firm and the new offices there will help STSHC broaden its European asset base. Giulio Ceriani and Jairo Espinosa, managing directors of IPWM, SA, add that offices in Spain are a natural expansion of their firm's Swiss operations.
STSHC, based in Coral Gables, Fla., offers securities brokerage, investment banking, asset management and private wealth management for retail, institutional, corporate and high-net-worth clients primarily in Latin America and Asia. STSHC services include access to international investment opportunities in the United States and foreign capital markets, offshore entities for financial planning and cross-border transactions, including private placements bridge financing and reverse mergers into publicly traded shell corporations.
People On The Move
Wilmington Trust Corporation, the Delaware-based financial services holding company, has hired 12 corporate trust experts in its corporate client services business. The new staff members, headed by Lon LeClair, a 15-year industry veteran, specialize in providing administrative services for corporate debt issuances, corporate debt defaults, mergers and acquisitions and corporate restructurings. The other new hires are Julie Becker, Joe Clark, Peter Finkel, Frank McDonald, Tim Mowdy, Joe O'Donnell, Jeff Rose, Kristin Schillinger, Jane Schweiger, Nick Tally and Barbara Thomas.
Cornerstone Advisors, a wealth and life building firm based in Bellevue, Wash., has promoted April Kriha to client manager. Kriha is responsible for leading a team that oversees the financial affairs of various clients and their businesses. A Cornerstone employee since 2001, Kriha previously held the title of associate client manager.
The wealth management group at Birmingham, Ala.-based Compass Bank has named Cory Wilson as senior investment strategist for the Alabama market. In addition, Susan Green has joined Compass's wealth management group as senior vice president and senior portfolio manager in the group's Houston headquarters.
Central Park Group LLC, an independent investment advisory firm based in New York City, has named James B. Hawkes to its board. Hawkes is former chairman and chief executive officer of Eaton Vance Corp.
The private wealth management group at Minnesota-based Robert W. Baird & Co., an international, employee-owned financial services firm, has hired 12 veteran financial advisors for Baird's new offices in Minnetonka, Minn. They are L. Larry Law, branch manager, senior vice president; James A. Anderson, senior vice president; Thomas R. Bredeson, senior vice president; Michael E. Chorley, senior vice president; David Goldenberg, senior vice president; William Teeter, senior vice president; John Wire, first vice president; Lawrence W. Carlsen, vice president; Fred Gamble, vice president; Douglas R. Sandahl, vice president; Bryan Strong, vice president; and Dan Law, vice president. Baird, established in 1919, also has offices in Europe and Asia.
The wealth management firm Weaver and Tidwell Financial Advisors Ltd. has hired Chris Toomey as a senior financial advisor and Thomas F. Parrish as an associate financial advisor. Their hiring establishes a presence in Houston of this affiliate firm of Weaver and Tidwell LLP.
Award Recognizes Effort To Create Family Leadership
The third annual RayLign Family Well-Being Award was presented June 12 to Iris Wagner, founder and CEO, Memoirs Productions, a Montreal-based ethical will and video biography company.
The award is presented to an individual or organization by RayLign Advisory LLC, of Greenwich, Conn., for professional commitment to RayLign's efforts at helping families create leadership, make effective decisions and align financial resources.
Memoirs was honored for its digitally produced DVD Legacy of Values, a guide for families in making an ethical will. The 2008 award includes a charitable donation to the Memoirs Productions Legacy Fund, established by Wagner.
"It is an honor to be recognized for work we are extremely passionate about-creating family heirloom DVD productions for future generations to view and cherish. Families crave the opportunity to reflect upon and pay tribute to their ancestry through professionally developed video,'' Wagner says.
RayLign was founded by Greg Rogers, who is also its current president.