RBC adds strategic relationship managers

RBC Correspondent and Advisor Services yesterday announced the addition of four senior-level relationship managers whose jobs are to consult with RBC's broker-dealer correspondents and RIA firms at a strategic level. The new positions are separate from sales, said Craig Gordon, director of the unit. "We are seeing firms we custody for presented with more growth opportunities than ever before" in terms of recruiting and developing new segments of the financial services business, he said. "So there's a greater need for partnering" with clients, Mr. Gordon said. The four new senior relationship managers are Kelly Cobb, JoAnn O'Rourke, Greg Plifka and Paul Meehl. Ms. Cobb came from the J.P. Morgan Investment Advisors Inc., which RBC acquired in June, and will continue as a relationship manager focused on registered investment advisory firms. Ms. O'Rourke, a relationship manager for RBC Correspondent Services, will be working with broker-dealer clients who are also "significantly involved" in the advisory business, Mr. Gordon said. Mr. Meehl, head of client services for RBC's operations, and Mr. Plifka, a regional manager with RBC Wealth Management, will focus on broker-dealer correspondents. Mr. Plifka, a former executive with J.B. Hanauer & Co., has been with RBC since its acquisition of Hanauer in 2007. His regional-management position was a transitional role, Mr. Gordon said. "We looked across our organization for individuals to play a [role as] senior adviser to our clients — individuals who could speak and be viewed as a peer for the [managers of] businesses we custody for," Mr. Gordon said. The goal is to "become strategic partners with our clients — understand our strategic goals, our clients' strategic goals, and bridge the gap," he said. RBC clears and custodies for more than 200 firms. Its RIA clients custody $11 billion at the firm.