STREET MOVES: BofA US Trust Makes Eight Wealth Appointments

Bank of America Corp.'s (BAC) U.S. Trust unit announced eight new wealth management appointments, including three executives, continuing the firm's recent hiring spree.

The Charlotte, N.C., banking giant's ultra-high-net-worth business said Brett Rufkahr rejoined the firm as a market executive for the St. Louis area after a stint at TIAA-CREF. Rufkahr, a more than 20-year industry veteran, will coordinate U.S. Trust products and services in that region, reporting to Larry Otto, midwest regional investment executive. He previously worked at Bank of America for 12 years.

The firm also appointed Brian Sharpe as a market investment executive for the greater Washington, D.C., area. Sharpe, who was a portfolio manager at BlackRock Inc. (BLK), will be responsible for overseeing portfolio management and investment strategy for U.S. Trust clients in that region. He reports to Regional Investment Executive Ken Shephard.

Other new hires include Richard Hall as a timberland investment adviser in Atlanta, David Litvack as a fixed income strategist in New York City, and Lynn Maaske as a market investment executive in Minneapolis.

Most recently, Hall managed operations for the Farm & Forestry Management Services Company in southern Brazil. Litvack was a managing director in U.S. public finance at Fitch Ratings. Maaske joined U.S. Trust from US Bancorp (USB) where she was a senior wealth adviser for high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

Additionally, the firm recruited Carla Jackson as a portfolio manager in St. Louis, David Levin as a senior trust officer in San Francisco, and Tom Tagliarini as a portfolio manager in Tampa, Fla.

Jackson was previously a regional development officer for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, where she led sales and marketing initiatives for financial advisers in four states who worked for the brokerage joint venture.

Levin joins from Janin, Morgan & Brenner, where he provided legal counsel to wealthy clients, while Tagliarini was a strategic wealth adviser at SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI).

U.S. Trust, part of Bank of America's Global Wealth & Investment Management unit, reported $285.2 billion in client balances as of the end of the second quarter, down 4% from a year ago. As of June 30, the firm had 2,163 client-facing professionals, down slightly from 2,188 at the end of the first quarter and 2,200 a year ago.

-By Brett Philbin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2173; brett.philbin@dowjones.com

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