Russell Mansfield, Senior Vice President-Branch Director, RBC Wealth Management

Invest: spoke with Russell Mansfield, senior vice president and branch director at RBC Wealth Management, about how client expectations are evolving, where he sees the strongest demand in the Charlotte market, and how his team is balancing high-touch advice with expanding digital tools. Mansfield discussed the importance of building relationships with second- and third-generation clients, the ongoing challenge of attracting the right advisory talent, and why he remains optimistic about the region’s trajectory. “There’s just a lot of wealth in Charlotte,” Mansfield said.

Which shifts or trends in the past year have had the greatest impact on your investment approach and client strategies?

One shift we have seen is traction with younger clients, who usually are kids and grandkids of existing clients. We’ve seen that trend, and we’re trying to build a good relationship and rapport with second and third generations of our clients. A lot of us have been doing this for a while, so a lot of our clients are 70, 80, or even 90 years old. As a result, we’ve seen some new clients come to the office and join us recently.

Charlotte remains a strong magnet for migration and investment. What makes this region an ideal location, and how does it compare to other markets you operate in?

There’s just a lot of wealth in Charlotte. I’ve got an office in Greenville, South Carolina, one in Hickory, North Carolina, and I go to Raleigh and different areas across North and South Carolina, but it just seems like a lot is going on. There are prosperous transactions and, bluntly, a lot of people with money. That’s who we deal with. Those are our clients and the people we want to work with.

We’re not the only city in the Southeast that’s like that, but we see a lot of wealth in Charlotte, and we also see a lot of people moving here from different areas. We have people coming from the Northeast, from California, from Florida, so we have a lot of transplants, as we call them.

Regarding the firm, how are you maintaining a high level of service to continue growing?

We make it a point to talk with our clients at least once a quarter, and a lot of those conversations are face-to-face. We’re taking them to breakfast or lunch, or having them come into the office. We feel like there’s a big appeal to meeting face-to-face. Back during COVID, we were doing a lot of WebExes and video calls, but we try to do more face-to-face now. That seems to sit well with our clients, and certainly with the advisers here.

What is your take on the availability of talent in Charlotte, and how are you attracting and retaining top talent for your firm?

It’s tough to attract the talent we’re looking for. We don’t have much of a training facility in Charlotte, so we’re looking for younger professionals who have been in the business for three to five years, and we talk with those people consistently. There’s a hotbed of talent in Charlotte. It’s just a matter of finding the right people.

That has been a challenge not only for RBC, but for the whole industry, because the business is getting older. I think the average age for a financial adviser across America is about 60. Some universities are starting to offer financial planning majors or certified financial planning majors, so we’re starting to talk with some of those universities about bringing in talent.

How are clients sensing the broader economy and potential headwinds?

We hear about a possible slowdown nationwide, or even a possible recession at some point, but Charlotte seems to be ahead of the game. It feels like we’re more productive and more prosperous than most regions. We do have clients who are more cautious, and I know some advisers in our office are also a little more cautious going into 2026. Not that we’re putting money under our mattresses or selling everything, but we are somewhat cautious going into the year.

There are always uncertainties, and that’s part of our job: taking that into account when we’re developing portfolios and working with our clients. We prepare for pullbacks and downturns, and a good part of what we do is getting clients through some of the tough times. We’re not negative or pessimistic by any stretch, but I would say we’re cautious.

On the advisory side, where are you seeing the most growth or demand, and what areas are you targeting for growth over the next few years?

We’re seeing growth in several different areas. We have clients exiting their profession, either retiring or selling businesses. Our advisers are well prepared to help clients prepare for retirement. We have what we call an RBC Wealth Plan, which is our retirement planning software that helps clients. We do that wealth plan for clients 20 and 30 years before they retire, so when they get to that point, they have a pretty good understanding of what to expect, and we prepare them for that.

So we’re seeing clients getting out of the workforce, and we’re having some clients sell businesses and have money to invest. There’s a lot of growth there. That goes back to Charlotte being a productive and progressive economy.

How are you continuing to invest in technology for the firm, and how is that creating efficiencies for your team and helping you better serve clients?

Our technology advances are driven through our home office in Minneapolis. We’re a branch of RBC Wealth Management, headquartered in Minnesota. We’re consistently spending money on technology. That includes financial planning for clients, but it also includes offering banking products, credit cards, checking accounts, mortgages, and being more of a one-stop shop for clients.

I don’t know the exact number, but it’s millions of dollars each year to advance our technology and keep up. We do make a pretty big investment in technology at RBC.

You’ve emphasized that face-to-face remains a priority. How are you finding the balance between in-person relationships and technology integrations?

We’ve spent a lot of money on our mobile app. A client can go on their phone, open the RBC Wealth Management app, and do a lot of transactions and inquiries online. That’s another technology advance RBC has used.

But we still like having a balance. We want the online capabilities that clients would use, but we still like being the focal point of the relationship. We want to be able to oversee what the client is doing and give them a second set of eyes on the portfolio and what they’re doing, just to make sure they’re making good decisions for their situation.

Looking ahead, what are your top priorities for the firm over the next two to three years, and what is your general outlook for the Charlotte region?

For the Charlotte office, we’re going to try to add a few new faces. We’re not looking to add 50 or 100 people. We’d like to add a few new advisers and support staff in our office. We are growing, and we’re adding assets and bringing on clients, so it would be nice to have a few new faces to help with those clients.

I’m optimistic, not only about the economy and growth in the United States, but also about Charlotte and its neighboring regions. When you say Charlotte, you’re including Rock Hill, Fort Mill, and the lake areas. There are a lot of people moving here, there’s a lot of wealth, and there are major companies, but also small businesses that we deal with and manage money for. They are profitable. I’m optimistic for the economy overall, but especially in the Charlotte area.