Marc White, president and CEO of Clarendon Private LLC.

The parent company of Brookline Bank and Bank Rhode Island has launched a Boston-based investment and wealth management company to provide services for individuals, families, endowments and foundations.

Brookline Bancorp said in a statement that the new company, Clarendon Private LLC, combines the hands-on approach of a boutique investment firm with comprehensive banking and lending resources. Clarendon Private is led by Marc A. White Jr., who was most recently president and CEO of the former Admirals Bank, which rebranded in January 2020 as Ethic, a Wealth Bank.

“As we launch Clarendon Private, we are driven by one simple truth; no two investors are alike, and their portfolios should not be either,” White said in the statement. “At Clarendon Private, we streamline the path to every family’s unique financial goals by delivering comprehensive wealth management solutions and exceptional relationship-based service. We are committed to listen, learn and understand each of our clients’ needs, and introduce services and solutions that address those needs.”

White has more than 40 years of experience in financial services and wealth management, including about a dozen years as CEO of J.P. Morgan’s private bank in New England.

Clarendon Private’s leadership team also includes Tracy L. Welch, the managing director and head of wealth advisory who most recently worked at Eaton Vance WaterOak Advisors, and Matthew S. Morse, the chief equity strategist and portfolio manager who has more than 20 years of investment management experience.

“Brookline Bancorp has built a legacy of consistent financial strength, trust, banking services and strong customer relationships. It’s in that spirit that we launch Clarendon Private, Boston’s newest investment and wealth management company,” Paul Perrault, chairman and CEO of Brookline Bancorp, said in the statement. “We are proud to welcome Marc White, Tracy Welch, Matthew Morse and the talented team at Clarendon Private into the Brookline Bancorp family.”

Carl Carlson, Brookline Bancorp’s co-president and chief financial officer, said during Brookline Bank’s earnings call in October that the company expects Clarendon Private to take about three years to grow to the point where the business breaks even, with between $500 million to $600 million in assets under management.

“We’ve been talking about this as a seed-versus-sod strategy,” Carlson said during the call. “So, we’re starting from nothing in growing this business. We think we’re in an excellent market to do it, and it’s the right time to do it for us.”

While Brookline Bank currently offers investment services through a partnership with Infinex Financial Group, Clarendon Private is the company’s first wealth management affiliate. Mark Fitzgibbon, a managing director and research analyst at Piper Sandler, recently told Banker & Tradesman that banks active with owner entrepreneurs and in real estate markets have wealth management opportunities with existing clients, who often hold significant personal wealth.

“Someone like Brookline has great relationships with those individuals that own those businesses and operate those businesses,” Fitzgibbon said. “Previously they didn’t really have a great capability to help those people with their wealth needs – now they do.”

Fitzgibbon added that Brookline Bancorp’s decision to make a long-term investment in building Clarendon Private sends a message to customers, as well as bank employees, that “this bank is going to be around for a while.”