Citizens Financial Group has added a Tampa-based advisory team that oversaw more than $1 billion in assets as it moves to strengthen its Florida private wealth presence.
The Tampa team, which is led by Chris MacLellan and Katie Bickle, joins Citizens Private Wealth, the company’s firm’s ultra-high-net-worth advisory unit. MacLellan Bickle Wealth Partners serves high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families and business owners.
The move expands Citizens’ presence in the Sunshine State - Citizens Private Wealth has teams in Boca Raton and Naples, while Citizens Private Bank has offices in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, and there is a Citizens Commercial Bank office in Tampa.
Paul Casey, head of Citizens Wealth Management, told InvestmentNews that Florida is important for the company. "There's a tremendous amount of wealth, there's a tremendous amount of business ownership," he said.
Certainly, Florida is an established wealth hub. Recent research from Acuity found that Florida retirees hold the second largest total wealth in the U.S., after California, at $2.64 trillion.
In 2024 Citizens Private Wealth added an advisory firm in Boca Raton that managed around $600 million in client assets.
“Tampa is home to entrepreneurs, business owners and families whose financial needs are becoming increasingly complex,” added MacLellan, who now serves as a managing director at Citizens Private Wealth.
The advisory firm is now MacLellan Bickle Wealth Partners within Citizens Private Wealth. MacLellan will focus primarily on investment management, while Bickle, also a managing director at Citizens Private Wealth, will lead relationship management and planning.
The move is also the latest in Citizens Private Wealth’s national push and marks its 12th addition across the U.S. since 2024. In June Citizens Private Wealth added an $800 million Santa Monica-based advisory team and, last year, brought in a $1.5 billion New York team.
In 2024, Citizens Financial appointed Morgan Stanley veteran Paul Casey to lead its wealth management arm.
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