$4.5B team from Bank of America Private Bank joins RIA

Fidelis Capital, a registered investment advisor, announced Tuesday that a team that oversaw $4.5 billion in assets at Bank of America Private Bank has joined the firm.

The team from BofA, which will operate from an office in Washington, D.C., includes wealth strategist Christopher Tate, portfolio manager Michael Sellers, fiduciary specialist Benjamin Hilyard, portfolio manager Aaron Wall and staffer Ashley Connor.

“Fidelis Capital operates as an outsourced family office, which will provide tremendous value and support as we strive to help clients navigate financial complexity in their lives,” Tate said in a statement. “Instead of the common industry practice of providing clients with access to one primary advisor, we surround families with a team of subject matter experts, who each specialize in a particular field and are in touch with the industry as a whole, to be able to seek out in-depth solutions to complex problems.”

Fidelis said the team has more than 70 years of experience collectively.

Tate has a law degree from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. Sellers has 20 years of experience and managed portfolios for both institutions and high-net-worth clients at BofA. Hilyard’s title at BofA was senior trust officer. Wall creates personalized investment strategies.

“As the founders of Fidelis Capital did, this team is making the transition to independence in search of an environment more amenable to the complex, ultra-high-net-worth wealth planning that their clients need," Rick Simonetti, founding partner, CEO and head of wealth planning at Fidelis, said in the statement.

Fidelis was founded last year by private bankers from Wells Fargo and Bank of America. It has offices in Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Tampa, Florida.