Barclays Wealth Continues Build Out in the Americas With Fourteen Investment Representative Hires

NEW YORK, March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Barclays Wealth, a leading global wealth manager by assets under management, is pleased to announce the addition of fourteen Investment Representatives in its New York, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston offices.

"The addition of these outstanding teams underscores our commitment to growing through high performing Investment Representatives," said Mitch Cox, Head of Barclays Wealth, Americas, and Head of Research and Investments globally for the firm. "The combination of deep wealth management expertise, a growing business, and direct access for clients to the world-class resources of Barclays globally is compelling for many seasoned advisors who serve the needs of high net worth individuals and families."

New York

Steven Sweetwood joins Barclays Wealth from JP Morgan, bringing over 25 years of wealth management experience.  Mr. Sweetwood joined JP Morgan in 2008 as part of its acquisition of Bear Stearns where he had worked for over two decades, most recently as a Senior Managing Director.  He holds a BA from Farleigh Dickinson University.

Robert Meenan joins Barclays Wealth with over 15 years of experience in wealth management and financial services, including the past five at Merrill Lynch. Prior to Merrill, Mr. Meenan was a Sales Director for SMC Corporation of America where he led a consulting team in the diversified medical, semiconductor and packaging industries.  Mr. Meenan holds a BS from Clarkson University.

Shlomi Yedid also joins Barclays Wealth from Merrill Lynch, where he was a Wealth Management Advisor. Mr. Yedid brings to his new role over a decade of experience in investment banking, equity research and alternative investments at several Wall Street firms including Societe Generale, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. He holds a BComm and an MBA from New South Wales University in Sydney, Australia.

Mr. Sweetwood, Mr. Meenan and Mr. Yedid each report to Mark Stevenson, Regional Manager for the New York office.

Miami

Louis Tinoco joins Barclays Wealth from UBS, where he worked since 2005. Mr. Tinoco brings to his new role over 13 years of wealth management experience serving high net worth individuals and families in Latin America. Prior to UBS, he worked as an advisor in the Miami offices of Atlas One Financial and Lehman Brothers. Mr. Tinoco holds a BA from Florida State University and an MBA from the University of Miami.

Ruben Lesmes joins the firm from HSBC, where for the past five years he served as a relationship manager working with Latin American private banking clients. Mr. Lesmes has 15 years of experience in financial services, primarily serving Latin American high net worth clients at ABN AMRO Bank and Merrill Lynch International Bank. He holds a BBA from Universidad De Los Andes in Colombia and an MBA and MS from the University of Miami.

Mr. Tinoco and Mr. Lesmes report to Marilyn Gonzalez, Regional Manager for Miami.

San Francisco

Alex Witherill joins Barclays Wealth with over 17 years of experience advising ultra high net worth clients and families, most recently at Credit Suisse. Prior to joining Credit Suisse in 2004, Mr. Witherill spent almost a decade at Lehman Brothers in Private Investment Management. He holds a BS from Arizona State University.

Matt Hodus also joins from Credit Suisse, where he was an advisor since 2004. Mr. Hodus has more than 12 years of wealth management experience. Prior to Credit Suisse, he worked at Lehman Brothers in San Francisco and Lebenthal and Co. in New York.  Mr. Hodus holds a BA from the University of Maryland-College Park.

Christopher Bender joins from Thomas Weisel Partners, where he was the Lead Portfolio Manager and Head of Fixed Income in Private Client Services. Mr. Bender brings over two decades of experience in fixed income and financial services, including 13 years at UBS, most recently as a Senior Municipal Trader.  He holds a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles and is a CFA Charterholder.

John Shaw also joins Barclays Wealth from Thomas Weisel Partners, where he worked since 1999 advising high net worth clients.  Mr. Shaw holds a BA and an MBA from Dartmouth College. He serves on the board of Camp Augusta.

In addition, Peter Kong joins from Thomas Weisel Partners, where he worked since 2000 advising high net worth individuals. He holds a BA from Dartmouth College and a JD from Georgetown University. Mr. Kong is a board member of the California Tennis Club.

All five new San Francisco-based Investment Representatives report to Doug Ireland, Regional Manager for San Francisco.

Los Angeles

Ron Jacoby joins Barclays Wealth from JP Morgan with a quarter century of wealth management and financial services experience. Prior to JP Morgan's acquisition of Bear Stearns in 2008, Mr. Jacoby worked at Bear Stearns for 22 years, primarily in Private Client Services in the Los Angeles office. He holds a BA from State University of New York, Albany.

Larry Roth joins Barclays Wealth from Northern Trust, where he worked since 2006. Mr. Roth has more than a decade of wealth management experience serving high net worth individuals and families, gained at Northern Trust, Merrill Lynch and UBS. He holds a BS from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from University of California, Los Angeles.

Gerald Gallagher also joins the firm from Northern Trust. He spent five years at Northern Trust and previously worked as an advisor at Merrill Lynch and UBS. He brings 12 years of experience in wealth management and financial services to his new role. Mr. Gallagher holds a MBA from University of Southern California.

Mr. Jacoby, Mr. Roth and Mr. Gallagher all report to Brian Sears, Regional Manager for Los Angeles.

Boston

Joel Beeders joins Barclays Wealth from Merrill Lynch, bringing over 20 years experience in both wealth management and the law. Prior to Merrill Lynch, Mr. Beeders worked as a lawyer at several law firms including Mintz Levin in Boston and Skadden Arps in New York. He holds a BA from Tufts University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and a JD from Columbia University.  Mr. Beeders reports to Marty Courage, Boston Regional Manager.

"We are delighted to welcome these highly experienced professionals to Barclays Wealth," said Steve Houston, who oversees the regional offices and Investment Representative network in his role as Head of Wealth Management, Americas.

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.

About Barclays Wealth

Barclays Wealth is a leading global wealth manager, and the UK's largest, with total client assets of $254bn (164bn pounds Sterling), as of December 31, 2010. With offices in over 20 countries, Barclays Wealth focuses on private and intermediary clients worldwide, providing international and private banking, investment management, fiduciary services and brokerage.

Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management with an extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs 147,500 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and manages money for customers and clients worldwide.

For further information about Barclays Wealth, please visit our website www.barclayswealthamericas.com.

Twitter page: www.twitter.com/barclayswealth

Barclays Wealth, the wealth management division of Barclays Bank PLC, functions in the U.S. through Barclays Capital Inc., an affiliate of Barclays Bank PLC. Barclays Capital Inc. is a registered broker dealer and investment adviser, regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Member FINRA/SIPC.

Barclays Bank PLC, registered in England and Wales (no. 1026167), has a registered office at 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP, United Kingdom, and is regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

SOURCE Barclays Wealth