April 24, 2025
By Karmen Alexander
RBC Wealth Management-U.S. reeled in a Merrill Lynch Private Wealth team managing $500 million in client assets in Austin, Texas, according to an announcement on Thursday.
The MK Group, which produced more than $3 million in annual revenue, is led by advisors Nancy McDonald and Jason Khawaja and includes client associate Alexandria Hardcastle, according to the announcement and Khawaja. They joined RBC on April 17, adding to the tally of moves during a frenzied week of transfers following tax day. RBC also last week nabbed a team managing $5 billion in assets from J.P. Morgan Advisors in New York City.
McDonald and Khawaja, who have worked together for the past 13 years, were drawn to RBC because of the firm’s “resources and capabilities” and the “autonomy” to run their practice in ways that benefit clients with “complex wealth planning needs,” Khawaja said in a statement.
The team had been conducting due diligence for the past 18 months and considered joining &Partners, Rockefeller Capital Management and Morgan Stanley, Khawaja said in an email. They report to RBC’s Austin branch manager Billy Brandenberger, added Khawaja, who declined to comment on the move further.
