Wilmington Trust, the wealth-management arm of M&T Bank Corp., is extending its hiring spree and considering acquisitions of registered investment advisers.
Wilmington is open to “targeted” purchases of RIAs in key markets, though it’s not currently in talks with specific firms, said Doris Meister, the company’s head of wealth management. It also plans to expand services to rich clients by doubling the number of its advisers over the next three to four years, focusing on staff who will cater to more diverse customers, including women and minority business owners.
“We’ve laid the foundation -- we can really grow and scale our business,” Meister, who’s been in the wealth industry for more than two decades, said in an interview. “We needed people who were very client-oriented, can build great teams and know how to build a great business.”
The company hired a dozen people and promoted employees in the past year as part of a push in key markets. Senior executives, advisers and strategists were added to expand services for wealthy clients in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Los Angeles and New Jersey, it said in a statement Monday. It also promoted 10 wealth advisers from within.
