U.S. Bank, a leading provider of wealth management and private banking services, announced today that Jonathan Firestein has been appointed the head of private capital for Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank, a unit of U.S. Bank’s Wealth Management Group that serves ultra high net worth clients with more than $25 million in individual or family wealth.

Firestein will lead the effort to construct the private capital investment platform for Ascent clients, including global investment strategies in venture capital, buyouts, private debt, real estate and real asset investment funds. He will also build the “impact” investment platform for Ascent clients, identifying global opportunities for clients to pursue investment opportunities with social and environmental impact as well as potential financial returns. Firestein will report to Kurt Silberstein, Ascent’s head of alternative investments.

“Jonathan’s previous experience in leading the construction of a global private capital investment platform and his focused experience in private equity make him well suited for this position,” Silberstein said. “Additionally, his background in economics provides him with a macro-economic perspective to guide the selection of private capital investment opportunities.”

Firestein brings more than 14 years of investment and business development experience to the Ascent investment team, including extensive experience in leveraged buyouts. He previously served as director of research for Wells Fargo Family Wealth and as a senior associate at Rigel Associates, a California-based private equity firm. Firestein earned a Masters of Science degree in economics and a Masters of Business Administration from Arizona State University. He graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics.

Firestein joined Ascent on August 8, 2011, and will work at the U.S. Bank office located at One California Street in San Francisco.

About Ascent Private Capital Management

Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank (ascent.usbank.com) helps individuals and families with significant wealth focus on the impact of their wealth rather than simply on accumulating that wealth. Ascent’s unique service delivery model combines traditional wealth management offerings — financial planning; investment management; private banking; trust and estate services; and financial administration — with cutting-edge “wealth impact” services that may help some of the country’s wealthiest families with family governance, family dynamics, and multigenerational wealth planning and education.

About U.S. Bank Wealth Management

U.S. Bank Wealth Management offers comprehensive wealth management solutions, including investment management, brokerage, financial planning, private banking, personal trust and insurance services for individuals, families, and their foundations. Ascent Private Capital Management serves ultra-high-net-worth clients with more than $25 million in investable assets; The Private Client Reserve (privateclientreserve.usbank.com) serves high-net-worth clients with more than $1 million in investable assets; and The Private Client Group serves affluent clients with more than $100,000 in investable assets. Brokerage services are offered through U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., and insurance services are offered through U.S. Bancorp Insurance, LLC.

Barclays Wealth, the global wealth management division of Barclays PLC, has appointed Ms. Anne Luke as Managing Director, Head of Client Solutions, Asia, on 10 August 2011, in a further extension of its continuing focus on the ultra high net worth client segment across Asia.

In this role, Ms. Luke will work closely with various units across the Barclays Group to drive the origination, structuring and delivery of bespoke private investment banking solutions to ultra high net worth clients. Typically, such transactions include large and complex deals which provide access to investments, manage financial risks or to provide structured financing across asset classes. Based in Singapore, Ms. Luke will report to Srinivas Siripurapu, Head of South Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as to Pakorn Boonya-kurkul, Head of North Asia.

In a career spanning more than 20 years, Ms. Luke has gained significant experience in private banking, investment banking, as well as in private legal practice. She spent a large part of her career with UBS, where she was responsible for wealth management solutions for the ultra high net worth client segment, and prior to that, she served the wealth management, investment banking and asset management divisions in the Legal and Compliance functions. She was also previously a partner in various law firms, covering banking and finance, as well as corporate advisory.

Mr. Didier von Daeniken, Chief Executive of Barclays Wealth Asia Pacific, said, “Anne has the skill sets and expertise in further enhancing our ability to leverage our expertise across the Barclays Group, and to deliver bespoke solutions and significant benefits to our client base across Asia. With her deep experience in banking and law, I am confident Anne will be able to further extend Barclays Wealth’s ability to provide customised complex solutions to our ultra high net worth client segment, and continue to drive our efforts in positioning Barclays Wealth as the wealth manager of choice for ultra high net worth individuals.”

In the past 18 months, Barclays Wealth in Asia has built a range of capabilities to cater to the complex needs of ultra high net worth clients. Recognising the sophisticated and diverse requirements of today’s ultra high net worth individuals, Barclays Wealth has introduced bespoke solutions in credit, derivatives, foreign exchange and trust structuring, to unlock the value from often complex portfolios, and help clients to monetise the full value of their assets.

In addition to providing the entire suite of private wealth management solutions, Barclays Wealth also caters to the sophisticated business needs of entrepreneurs in Asia, through drawing on the capabilities of Barclays Group, offering clients an array of other services including capital-raising activities, access to sector specialists and advisors, as well as institutional trading platforms.