The wealth management subsidiary of downtown-based City National Bank once again has a chief investment officer.

City National Rochdale announced March 12 the addition of Matthew Peron as CIO.

The hire came after an extensive search, according to Chief Executive Garrett D’Alessandro, who said the process was intentionally exhaustive to make sure the firm filled the position with someone who could grow City National Rochdale’s asset pool.

“It’s been a little more than a year since we had someone in the CIO position,” D’Alessandro said. “We looked for someone who could double the size of our invested capital and then double it again over the next 10 years.

“We took the right amount of time to find the right person,” he added.

Peron fit all the criteria, D’Alessandro said, coming from Northern Trust Corp. in Chicago, where he was executive vice president and managing director of the firm’s global equity group. Northern Trust has about $1.2 trillion in assets under management compared to City National Rochdale’s $37 billion.

Peron said that the move was an opportunity for him to help guide the wealth management wing of the bank in an era of change.

“There is a real transformation of the business,” he said. “There is more choice, more technology and more of a holistic investment process.”

D’Alessandro added that Peron would help the bank broaden its strategies and advance client communications.

“The old way was to tell clients what stocks we were picking,” D’Alessandro said. “The new way is to figure out what outcomes clients want from their portfolio.”

The appointment comes at an opportune time: After a year of stability and remarkably consistent growth in the equities markets, volatility has returned in 2018. Peron said that while he was still bullish on stocks and the economy overall, there were opportunities to be had with a more uneven market.

“We’re still constructive on the markets overall, but the character of the markets have changed and the returns on the markets might change,” Peron said. “It’s not just put it on autopilot anymore.”

BofA’s Latino Leaders in L.A.

Bank of America Corp. released a study this month showing Latino-American business owners are optimistic about their economic future.

In Los Angeles, Bank of America’s Raul Anaya, who serves as the region’s market president, sat down with several of the bank’s clients to talk about the particular challenges and rewards of being a Latino business owner at Tamayo Restaurant and Art Gallery. There were some 150 attendees.

Panelists included Porto’s Bakery President and owner Raul Porto; Monica Villani, chief executive of RE/MAX Innovative; and Moises Cisneros, executive director of the L.A. Latino Chamber of Commerce.

Anaya said a common thread for the businesses owners in the region was the opportunity afforded to them.

“With 10 million consumers in Los Angeles County, there’s a huge opportunity for everyone with an established brand and for anyone who wants to start a brand to grow,” he said. “It’s a great place to expand.”

The Latino small business community is also an important part of Bank of America’s business in the Southland, Anaya added. The bank has 18 dedicated members across a swath of business lines as part of its “Greater Los Angeles Leadership Team.”

Have a deal tip? Henry Meier can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 556-8321.