RBC nabs $770 million UBS team in Syracuse

RBC Wealth Management’s US business has hired a seven-person advisor team in Syracuse, New York, adding to a fast-paced recruitment run that has touched multiple regions and wirehouse rivals.

The Creative Strategies for Modern Wealth Group has joined RBC’s Syracuse branch from UBS, where it oversaw nearly $770 million in client assets. The team is led by senior vice presidents and financial advisors Michael Wirtheim, Ronald Scott, Nancy Collins, and Ronald Molinari.

The advisor quartet is backed by a support team that includes senior financial associate Eric Petranchuk, senior client associate Emily Pascale, and client associate Lea DiGiovanni.

In a statement, Great Lakes complex director Frank Albanese called the group “a great addition to our firm” and said the advisors focus on relationships rather than transactions. He added that they aim to deliver tailored guidance to clients’ broader wealth plans.

RBC said the Syracuse team brings more than 132 years of combined industry experience. The advisors emphasize multi-asset, diversified portfolios and fold estate and tax considerations into their work to offer a more holistic approach to wealth planning, according to the firm.

The move follows several other sizable additions RBC has made this month as it leans into advisor recruiting and branch expansion. In Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, the firm recently brought on the Thomasco Group from Morgan Stanley, a team that oversees $646 million in assets. Florida complex director Ken Ross said the group was attracted by “direct access to local management and a collaborative culture that values their entrepreneurial spirit.”

RBC has also been building out its footprint in the Lone Star State. In Houston last week, the Ellsworth Fair Wealth Management Group joined the firm’s Houston Memorial office from Baird with a practice centered on employer-sponsored retirement plans and related advisory work. Branch director Terri Edwards said the advisors bring “deep expertise in large-scale retirement plans and employer plan structures.”

The latest Syracuse addition also extends a recruitment run out of UBS. Earlier this month, RBC added the Fogarty Hernandez Wealth Management Group in Los Angeles, a team that managed $660 million in client assets, and previously welcomed the $1.2 billion Heller Stieffel & Noto Wealth Management team in New Orleans, marking its official expansion into Louisiana.