Huntington taps Marc Dizard to reshape its wealth investment playbook

A quick announcement and what it means today

Huntington Bank (HBAN) said on Monday it has hired Marc Dizard as Chief Investment Officer for its Wealth Management business. The appointment is effective immediately, the bank said in a press release, and places Dizard in charge of the teams that set asset allocation, select third-party managers and design portfolio solutions for private wealth and advice clients.

The news is a clear personnel move: Huntington is boosting the senior leadership of its wealth arm at a time when many regional banks are trying to turn client relationships into steadier fee income. For now, the hire is an executive update rather than a product-launch announcement — but it could change the way Huntington packages investment advice and manages client assets over the next 12–24 months.

Who Marc Dizard is and why Huntington hired him

Marc Dizard arrives with a background in multi-asset investing and a long track record running investment teams for wealth platforms. He has led CIO functions at other firms where his remit included strategic asset allocation, manager selection and building model portfolios for advisers and high-net-worth clients.

That experience matters because Huntington’s wealth business needs someone who understands both the front-end adviser channel and the back-end investment engine. Dizard’s resume highlights work on diversified solutions — blending equity, fixed income and alternatives — and on packaging those solutions so advisers can deliver consistent outcomes without building everything in-house.

Past roles on his CV show a mix of portfolio construction and client-facing responsibility. He has overseen investment teams responsible for manager due diligence, risk frameworks and performance reporting — all the nuts-and-bolts skills that matter when a bank wants to scale advice products and improve retention of fee-paying clients.

How Huntington’s investment approach could change

Dizard’s skill set points to a few likely shifts inside Huntington Wealth. First, expect a stronger emphasis on model portfolios and multi-asset solutions designed for advisers and affluent clients who want a packaged, rules-based approach to investing.

Second, the bank may tighten its manager selection and due-diligence processes. That typically means fewer, higher-conviction manager relationships and more centralized portfolio oversight — a setup that aims to deliver steadier outcomes and clearer marketing messages to advisers and clients.

Third, the advice model itself could lean more on discretionary strategies, where the wealth group manages portfolios directly against a stated objective. That helps the firm earn recurring fee revenue but requires investment governance and a proven track record to attract flows.

What this hire could mean for investors and Huntington’s public metrics

For shareholders of Huntington Bancshares (HBAN), the Dizard appointment matters mostly as a step toward growing fee income and making client relationships stickier. If his work results in new model offerings or stronger cross-sell between retail, commercial and wealth channels, that could lift assets under management (AUM) and recurring fees over time.

Don’t expect immediate changes to earnings or capital. The main impact would likely show up slowly: incremental AUM growth, modest margin expansion from higher-fee products, and better retention of high-value clients. Those things can move a bank’s fee revenue line and the composition of its revenue mix, but they typically take quarters rather than days to materialize.

There are limits. Wealth adjustments alone are unlikely to shift Huntington’s overall net interest margin or materially change credit outcomes. Investors should view the hire as a constructive, but not transformational, step in the bank’s diversification away from interest-rate-dependent income.

What the press release said and where this fits in the industry

The press release quoted Huntington management highlighting Dizard’s experience and the strategic importance of strengthening the wealth team. Huntington said the hire will help the bank deliver “advice-led” investment solutions across its client base. Dizard was quoted expressing enthusiasm about joining Huntington and working to align investment solutions with client goals.

The move is consistent with a broader industry trend: regional banks and wealth platforms are investing in senior investment talent to defend against fee pressure and to offer packaged solutions that advisers and clients can buy into. There was no notable analyst commentary attached to the announcement and no major market reaction reported at the time of the release.

What investors should watch next and the main risks

Watch for three milestones: an integration plan or roadmap from Huntington on how Dizard’s team will be organized; new product launches or refreshed model portfolios; and periodic updates on AUM or fee revenue tied to wealth solutions. Those are the concrete signs that the hire is translating into growth.

Key risks are execution (can new solutions attract meaningful flows?), market conditions (volatile markets hurt asset-gathering efforts) and compliance/governance demands that can slow product rollouts. If Huntington moves too quickly without proving outcomes, the firm could spend on build-out without seeing the expected fee lift.

Overall, this hire reads as a sensible, low-hype step toward strengthening Huntington’s advice capabilities. It raises the chance that the bank will slowly build more stable, fee-based revenue, but investors should expect benefits to emerge over the medium term rather than immediately.

Sources

• prnewswire.com