Private Banking Executives from Wells Fargo and Bank of America launch Fidelis Capital

By Edlyn Cardoza

Top private bankers from Wells Fargo and Bank of America announced that they have joined forces to launch Fidelis Capital, an advisor-owned wealth management firm seeking to provide a superior private banking experience by surrounding clients with a diverse team of financial specialists who get to know each client personally to provide for their financial needs.

The launch of Fidelis Capital brings together top teams from rival financial institutions that joined as one to serve as a wealth management firm. The team brings over 200 years of collective experience working at private banks and in the financial industry.

Fidelis Capital caters to select ultra-high-net-worth clients with teams based in Tampa, Florida and Dallas, Texas. The Fidelis teams will deliver a tailored suite of services to each client, providing access to experts in areas such as investment and speciality asset management, business transition advisory services, wealth, estate, and tax planning, personal risk management, bill pay and reporting, and fiduciary lending services, among others. Fidelis Capital’s highly experienced team of advisors provided thoughtful counsel and advised on nearly $6 billion in client assets at their former employers.

“In the past few years, the private banking model has changed drastically,” said Neale Ellis, CFA, CPWA^®, Fidelis Capital Founding Partner & Co-Chief Investment Officer. “With the launch of Fidelis Capital, we are on a mission to revive the access to a team of experts and give ultra-high-net-worth families, institutions, and other private banking clients the kind of team that can manage not some, but all of their financial matters, giving them back what money can’t buy—time!”

The advisor team in Fidelis Capital’s Tampa office is led by Matthew Michaels, CFA, CFP, a 25-year financial services professional and one of the top-ranked portfolio managers at Wells Fargo; and veteran partner Paul Ayotte, who has over 24 years of experience, with the most recent 18 years at Wells Fargo Private Bank as a Wealth Advisor.

“Collectively we have 200 years of private banking experience and understand that the best way to serve clients is to invest in the specialists that surround those clients with the expertise they need and ensure they have access to the latest technology, the best investment solutions, and other critical tools out there,” added Founding Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer Matthew Michaels, CFA, CFP^®. “We are committed to partnering with the best specialists across the industry that can help us bring to bear solutions that help our clients in all aspects of their financial affairs.”

Professionals operating out of the Dallas office include a highly recognised asset management team, including Co-Chief Investment Officer Neale Ellis, CFA, CPWA^® and President Matthew Ellis, CPWA^®, both of whom are Founding Partners, and Relationship Manager Libby Castle, CFA, CFP^®.

Before founding Fidelis Capital, Neale Ellis was a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at Bank of America Private Bank (formerly US Trust), where he helped found and co-manage the Private Bank Managed Active Core portfolio for 9 years. He started his financial career with Goldman Sachs and McKinnon and Company after serving 12 years as a Surface Warfare Officer with the US Navy. Matthew Ellis, with 24 years of experience in the financial industry, was most recently Managing Director at Wells Fargo Private Bank. His experience includes time with Goldman Sachs, Smith Barney, and Bank of America/US Trust after starting his career as a Naval Flight Officer with the US Navy.

Chief Executive Officer, Rick Simonetti, spent 22 years as Senior Managing Director of the Southern Region and National Head of Wealth Planning at Wells Fargo Private Wealth Management. He began his career and spent 11 years at Deloitte as a Senior Tax Specialist.

“We have cultivated the best talent from across big banks like Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America,” said Founding Partner and Client Advisor Paul Ayotte. “With Fidelis Capital, we have brought the personalised service of private banking into the independent realm. I look forward to working with our teams here in Tampa and in Dallas to deliver a differentiated approach to ultra-high-net-worth clients, institutions, and family offices.”