RBC lures 2 more practices, nears $20B in assets recruited this year

RBC’s rapid expansion in the U.S. wealth management market continues with the addition of two separate firms, from opposite ends of the country, managing a combined $1.62 billion in client assets under management.

With these two firms, RBC is nearing $20 billion in assets recruited year-to-date, according to the firm.

The first is Glasband Stempel Wealth Management Group, a $1.4 billion team based in Boca Raton, Florida. The former Merrill Lynch team focuses on multi-generational wealth planning and high-net-worth families, and has a combined 75 years of industry experience across its five advisors, RBC says.

Managing director Eric Glasband cites RBC Wealth Management’s leadership team and corporate culture as being driving factors in the decision to leave Merrill.

“I like the fact that they were able to dig in deep, listen and learn about our practice,” Glasband says.

Glasband says he’s impressed by RBC Wealth Management’s client-facing technology, which the firm has been developing to attract and keep advisory talent. The platform will help strengthen Glasband Stempel’s communication and collaboration capabilities, he says.

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“Our tech team dug deep and felt it was very easy for a retired person and for a young tech-savvy person,” Glasband says.

RBC Wealth Management is also bringing aboard Carol Wilshire, a solo practitioner in Los Angeles with $220 million of AUM and 20 years experience. Wilshire offers financial planning and asset management to high-net-worth individuals and retirees in the LA area, particularly women going through a separation or divorce.

“It’s an incredible feeling to give [women] comfort during a difficult time,” Wilshire said in a statement. “Trust develops when you enable them to secure their financial future.”

Wilshire comes from UBS, where she has been since 2009, according to BrokerCheck.

“I have spent years building my business from the ground up, but in order to continue serving my growing client base, I needed to partner with a firm that shares my client-first values and will support and enable me to form a team of advisors who share my vision for exceptional client service,” she said in the statement.

Earlier this month, RBC landed a $675 million AUM team from Morgan Stanley and five other advisors managing a collective $472 million.

The firm is also growing its custodial business. The pace of new clearing contracts with RIAs and broker-dealers this year is nearly double what it was in 2019, says Brett Thorne, head of RBC Correspondent Services and RBC Advisor Services.