Nick Georgis returns to Schwab Advisor Services
The former head of sales will assume many of Barnaby Grist's duties
3 min read- Schwab hires Nick Georgis as VP, strategic business, reporting to Bernie Clark.
- Georgis will manage consolidator relationships, trust reporting sales, and M&A consulting.
- Appointment follows Barnaby Grist's departure, with Georgis assuming some of his duties.
- Experience across RIA, wealth management, and advisory roles factored into Georgis' hiring.
J. Nicholas “Nick” Georgis has rejoined Schwab Advisor Services today as vice president, strategic business.
Georgis was hired by Bernie Clark, head of Schwab Advisor Services, and he will report to him.
Georgis, 55, worked in a variety of roles at Schwab between 1991-2004 and he was the company’s national sales director for RIA custody at the time of his departure. He worked for Russell Investments of Tacoma, Wash. as the managing director, wealth management, for its U.S. Individual Investor Services group in 2005 and 2006.
Georgis was responsible for building and managing Russell’s relationships with wealth managers, including RIAs. He was also part of that group’s senior management team.
In 2008, Georgis joined Wetherby Asset Management, an RIA that manages $3 billion from San Francisco. He helped to build and design investment portfolios and financial plans for high net worth clients.
His broad experience and his long-standing relationships with Schwab RIAs were important considerations in Clark’s hiring of him.
Barnaby Grist is leaving Schwab and Jon Beatty is stepping up
Accelerate
“Nick is an important addition to my senior leadership team,” he says. “He has a deep understanding of this industry and is well-known and trusted by our clients. His credibility and strategic acumen will help us accelerate our approach to serving advisors and attract even more clients to the independent space.”
Georgis’ new responsibilities include overseeing relationships with large consolidators, sales of personal trust reporting systems and Schwab’s consulting related to mergers and acquisitions.
He will also be responsible for mapping out a longer term business acquisition strategy.
Story Timeline
Georgis says that he’s looking forward to taking on the more cerebral role of setting longer-term strategy for Schwab.
“My job was [previously] more the day to day issues,” he says. “What’s exciting is helping to determine where the business evolves in the next five years.”
Grist’s departure
Why Nick Georgis came back to Schwab and how the old hand may bring new vision
The hiring of Georgis follows closely on the heels of Barnaby Grist’s departure from the company at the start of February. See: Barnaby Grist is leaving Schwab and Jon Beatty is stepping up
Georgis will assume some of Grist’s old duties but his position is more tailored to his unique skills and experiences, according to Alison Wertheim, spokeswoman for Schwab.
“He will assume many of the same responsibilities as Barnaby, but his skills, background and charge are different because he has worked on all sides of the business” she says. “His charge is to further evolve our strategic relationships and offerings to benefits advisors, something he is uniquely suited to do because he has an intimate understanding of the needs of advisors from the inside out.”
In addition to working at Wetherby preparing financial plans, Georgis worked as an advisor with Wells Fargo prior to joining Schwab.
Financial advisors view his position favorably and they believe that he will be effective in his new position.
Great contribution
“I think he’ll make a great contribution at Schwab,” says Deborah Wetherby, CEO of Wetherby Asset Management, which manages $3 billion from San Francisco. “I think he is thoughtful and he communicates well. He’s a very good manager.
Dennis Clark, principal of Advisor Partners LLC of Lafayette, Calif., agrees. “The reason he was so successful was that he brought a managerial talent to the table in shaping the brand, the product and the direction of the business,” he says. Clark hired Georgis to Schwab in 1991.
Brooke’s Note: I will publish a more detailed version of this story by tomorrow that includes more thoughts from Georgis and the people who know him.
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