RBC Wealth Management, a unit of Royal Bank of Canada, has recruited a seven-person financial advisor team from UBS, where they oversaw about $1.5 billion in client assets. The Focus Wealth Management team joined RBC on Wednesday, according to registration records. RBC announced the move on Thursday.

The Focus team is based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and caters to business owners and high- and ultrahigh-net-worth families. The practice specializes in planning wealth transfers and devising strategies to help owners sell their businesses. UBS declined to comment on the departure.

"The Focus Wealth Management group is exactly the kind of team RBC Wealth Management was built for," says Ken Ross, RBC's Florida complex director. The Focus leaders were looking for "a culture where the client always comes first," he says. "That's precisely what we offer."

The team includes three advisors: James Mahoney III and Peter Foley Jr., who serve as managing directors, and Justin Warzala, who is a Certified Financial Planner. It also includes four support staffers: Lori DeJesus; Will Garrett; Paula Echeverry; and Thomas Cooper.

The move comes as UBS has seen its U.S. advisor ranks diminish, but it isn't entirely a one-way street. Earlier this week, UBS announced the hiring of a four-person advisor team in Florida that oversaw $1.3 billion in client assets with Bank of America Private Bank.

For RBC, the move continues an aggressive recruiting campaign that has seen it poach advisor teams from many large brokerage firms. In seeking advisor teams that cater to high-dollar clients, RBC has also been building out its service model for ultrahigh-net-worth individuals and families.

Mahoney had spent his entire career as a broker and registered investment advisor with UBS, dating to 2012. Foley is a longtime industry veteran who first registered as a broker and advisor with Merrill Lynch in 1994 before joining UBS in 2013. Warzala first registered as a broker and advisor with UBS in 2015.

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