Fieldpoint Private Bank & Trust has named John Palazzetti as the company’s Director of Private Banking & Advisory, who also will serve as President of the institution’s Fieldpoint Private Securities.

According to the firm, Mr. Palazzetti will oversee the firm’s branch expansion while leading the recruitment of Membership Executives who manage individual Members’ Private Banking, Wealth Management, Business Banking, Family Office and Trust Services.

Fieldpoint Private reported that it seeks to announce a third and fourth location in the United States later in 2011 or early 2012, as it officially opens the new offices of its current New York City branch at 400 Park Avenue during the fourth quarter of this year.

According to Robert S. Matthews, Fieldpoint Private’s President & CEO, Mr. Palazzetti will serve as the Director of Private Banking and Advisory, and will have primary responsibility for the build-out, supervision and structuring of the Fieldpoint Private branch system including sales, recruiting, operations, staffing, professional development, compensation, and expansion planning for the two current locations of Fieldpoint Private (Greenwich headquarters and its New York City office), as well as future locations. Mr. Palazzetti also will have direct responsibility for the recently acquired Broker Dealer announced last month, as it becomes part of the Fieldpoint Private Securities affiliate.

The announcement was made by President & Chief Executive Officer Robert S. Matthews, who said, “John’s work at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch has been marked by success at every stage. In helping to lead Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s branch network, as well as managing branches in New York City, Boston and New Jersey, Palazzetti consistently ranked among the top 10 branches in various performance metrics, including assets under management and account loyalty.”

“He engenders loyalty, understands the value of relationships, believes in the importance of leading with intellectual capital, and is the perfect choice to serve Fieldpoint Private’s Members in the ultra-high net worth community,” Matthews said. “John has distinguished himself as an Advisor, Branch Office Manager, Chief Administrative Officer, and Head of Professional Development.”

Most recently, Mr. Palazzetti served as Managing Director and Director of Professional Development with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, where he helped to develop the firm’s field management, Financial Advisors and Home Office employees. He also was a member of the company’s Executive Management Committee and Wealth Management Operating Committee. Previously, he served as Chief Administrative Officer at Smith Barney, where he oversaw the Private Client Retail Branch System.

Mr. Palazzetti began his career in 1987 as a Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch. He earned his Bachelor degree in Business Administration from Pace University. A resident of New Jersey, Mr. Palazzetti initially will work from Fieldpoint Private’s office in Greenwich, and subsequently in the firm’s New York City office.

About Fieldpoint Private Bank & Trust
Fieldpoint Private Bank & Trust (www.fieldpointprivate.com), located in Greenwich, Connecticut, is a boutique financial firm providing the highest degree of personalized, confidential wealth planning and private banking services. Catering to highly successful individuals, families, businesses and institutions, Fieldpoint Private offers a powerful combination of Wealth Management and strategy, Family Office, Private Banking and Business Banking services addressing every financial need for each of our Members including: Wealth Transfer Advice, Tax Planning, Aggregation and Performance Reporting, Risk Management, Goals-Based Investing Strategies, Sophisticated Investment Selection, Discreet and Personalized Banking, Highly Customized Credit Solutions, Custom Custody and Trust Solutions, Highly Attentive/Responsive Service and Concierge Services.

Fieldpoint Private Bank & Trust was established in 2008 by 31 Founders with a specific vision and purpose. These extraordinary leaders of industry and community recognized the opportunity to create a financial firm totally attuned to people’s individual circumstances. Our firm is built on a philosophy of exclusive Membership and client-centricity. Working with a limited number of relationships gives every person the experience of belonging to an extremely selective group. The result is a new breed of institution established on the basis of personalization, responsiveness, and exclusivity, and an ensured commitment to impeccable service and consistently flawless execution. Our Member-oriented service approach offers a unique client experience custom crafted to each Member’s financial needs.

Credit Suisse was named the “Best Wealth Management House 2011″ by Euromoney magazine, a leading publication for the global banking and capital markets. In addition, Credit Suisse received 11 regional and country awards, including “Best Bank in Switzerland.”  The honors are based on the results ofEuromoney’s Awards For Excellence Survey 2011.

Walter Berchtold, Chief Executive Officer Private Banking, said, “We are proud of these accolades, which reinforce our leading position across the globe. Euromoney, like our peers, recognizes the importance and strength of our integrated banking model – combining Private Banking, Investment Banking and Asset Management – as well as our global footprint in emerging markets, most notably Asia, as key to attracting client assets.”

He added, “We are particularly pleased to be recognized by Euromoney in our home market of Switzerland for the high level of service that we provide to clients. We continue to believe in Switzerland as one of the most important financial centers in the world for wealth management given its heritage of a sound political system and stability and its beneficial regulatory framework.”

The annual Euromoney rankings are derived from a qualitative and quantitative review of the best services in private banking by markets and by areas of service. The survey includes competitors’ perceptions of the best-performing providers in defined categories.

These accolades are the result of Credit Suisse’s consistent execution of its client-focused strategy over a number of years. By developing comprehensive advisory services on a global platform and offering clients the full resources of the Bank, Credit Suisse has been able to deliver value-added service to all targeted client segments. Credit Suisse has the right strategy in place as underscored not only by its client momentum, but also by awards such as these.

Barclays Wealth has announce the appointment of Hans Olsen as a Managing Director and Head of Americas Investment Strategy.

In this newly created role, Mr. Olsen will help develop the firm’s strategic and tactical asset allocation and will manage the Investment Strategy team in the US. His focus will be on delivering regionally-customized investment strategies for high net worth clients in the Americas. Based in New York, Mr. Olsen will report directly to Aaron Gurwitz, the Barclays Wealth Chief Investment Officer.

“Hans has an exceptional background that makes him an ideal addition to our team,” said Mitch Cox, head of Global Research and Investments as well as the Americas for Barclays Wealth. “With experience in global, boutique and private family firms, Hans combines a deep understanding of the markets with an ability to convey his insights as practical, actionable guidance for our clients.”

“Hans’ strong investment expertise across publicly traded and private asset classes is an excellent complement to the team’s economic and behavioral finance strengths,” said Mr. Gurwitz.

Mr. Olsen joins Barclays Wealth from JP Morgan where he served as Chief Investment Officer for Private Wealth Management since 2007. In this role, he was a member of the Private Bank’s Global Investment Strategy team and responsible for constructing portfolios with a focus on asset allocation and manager selection, as well as building and maintaining an investment solutions platform. Prior to JP Morgan, Mr. Olsen was Chief Investment Officer at Bingham Legg Advisors, a Boston-based wealth manager, and also a portfolio manager at Emerson Investment Management, where he served as co-chairman of the Investment Strategy Committee. Previously, Mr. Olsen founded a private asset management company that specialized in managing portfolios for individuals and small institutions. From 1993 to 1995, he served as a senior portfolio manager at Ram Trust Services, a family office. His responsibilities there included the core equity and fixed income portfolio, a private money market fund, and private placement investments. Mr. Olsen began his career at Argus Research in New York.

A CFA charterholder, Mr. Olsen holds a BA from Bates College in Maine. He has completed the executive education program on investment decisions and behavioural finance at Harvard University.

“With Hans, Kevin Gardiner, our head of Investment Strategy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Benjamin Yeo, our head of Research, Economics and Investment Strategy for Asia, Greg Davies, our Head of Behavioral Finance, and our CIO Aaron Gurwitz, we believe Barclays Wealth now has one of the industry’s finest research teams dedicated to high net worth investors,” continued Mr. Cox, who oversees both the firm’s global research and investment product platform as well as its Americas wealth management business.

With 14 offices across the U.S. and Latin America, including its trust office in Delaware, Barclays Wealth in the Americas provides comprehensive wealth management to high net worth individuals and families. The firm focuses on understanding its clients’ financial needs, personal aspirations and tolerance for risk in order to design and implement highly customized investment solutions.

Alexandra & James Co., LLC has announced that Michelle Smith, co- founder and Managing Partner of Alexandra & James Advisory Services and Family Wealth Management has been named one of the top 50 women in wealth management by Advisor One Magazine for the second consecutive year.

Ms. Smith co-founded the company with CEO Alexandra Lebenthal in 2007. The firm is a multi family office that serves clients with $2-$40 million in assets and handles a range of services from investment manager selection, tax and accounting work and estate planning. Ms. Smith is also one of the leading Certified Divorce Financial Analysts (CDFA) in the country and through Smith Divorce Strategies, LLC, heads the forensics, financial analysis and settlement structuring for high net worth divorces. Ms. Smith started her career in 1986 at Merrill Lynch and worked at UBS and Wachovia Securities.

“Anyone who knows Michelle would agree she belongs on this list!” said Alexandra Lebenthal, CEO of Alexandra and James and its broker dealer Lebenthal & Company, “Michelle is an entrepreneur, leader and dynamic woman. Her ability to connect with clients is astounding. I couldn’t be more thrilled to see this honor bestowed upon her yet again.”

Alexandra & James, LLC operates a multi-family office/wealth management business through its affiliated registered investment advisor, Alexandra & James Advisory Services, LLC, providing a diversified line of financial services, including; financial planning, asset allocation, manager selection, monitoring and reporting manager results, and portfolio rebalancing.