Several wealth firms announced senior leadership appointments this week, reinforcing priorities around market strategy, wealth client development and digital transformation.
At Wells Fargo Investment Institute, Luis Alvarado has been elevated to co-head of Global Fixed Income Strategy, effective immediately. In the expanded role, Alvarado will share responsibility for shaping the firm’s fixed income outlook, including targets, guidance, asset allocation views and interest-rate positioning, while helping align strategy across taxable and tax-exempt platforms.
Alvarado will partner with Brian Rehling, whose remit now also encompasses digital assets. A Wells Fargo veteran since 2016, Alvarado most recently served as global fixed income strategist and brings more than 19 years of industry experience. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Universidad de Costa Rica and a master’s degree in financial studies.
Meanwhile, KeyBank has named Michelle Perez managing director and head of Key Family Wealth Client Development & Strategy within Key Family Wealth, the firm’s multifamily office unit. Perez will report to Robert Weiss and joins his leadership team.
Perez began her career at Key in 2007 as a mortgage advisor and advanced through a series of increasingly senior roles. Most recently, she served as regional executive for Key Private Bank’s Central Region, where she was responsible for driving profitable growth while building and mentoring teams.
In another leadership move, Equitable Advisors has hired Anthony Montufar as head of digital and client experience, a newly created position reporting to chairman David Karr. Montufar will oversee the firm’s digital strategy, including advisor technology, client-facing platforms and end-to-end workflows designed to improve efficiency and engagement.
His mandate includes digital product development, advisor workstation enhancements, vendor partnerships and client experience design, with an emphasis on simplifying journeys and expanding AI-enabled capabilities to support scalable growth. Montufar joins Equitable Advisors from Wells Fargo Advisors, where he led advisor platform innovation, and previously held digital and strategy leadership roles at JPMorgan. He holds a degree in business and technology from Stevens Institute of Technology.
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