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Battle for lucrative business pits big houses against each other.

Here's how America's top wealth-management firms recommend you allocate your assets. Hint: Put more money overseas.

The article appeared in the opinion section of the Los Angeles Times, and it urges L.A. city officials to swiftly enact recommendations aimed at expanding economic opportunity and job creation. These recommendations come from a report published two years ago by the Los Angeles Economy & Jobs Committee, a blue-ribbon panel of business, labor, education and non-profit leaders. Russell chaired the committee at the request of L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) A tight focus on banking businesses and the wealthy of Los Angeles cushioned City National Corp. (CYN) from the financial crisis and likely ensures an earnings rebound.

In summer 2004, wealth manager Barbara Bruser got what she considered at the time to be an unusual request. As director of equities for City National Asset Management, Bruser is used to customizing investment portfolios...

“We want to see everything – tax returns, the family’s balance sheet, the ownership of every asset, their cash-flow needs,” Lockshin told Barron’s. “They can only take risks, emotionally speaking, if they don’t have to worry about their cash flow, and their No. 1 objective is to preserve their lifestyle.”

Daily Variety, May 26, 2009 -- "City National, one of Southern California's largest independent banks, has hired longtime Broadway banker Stephanie Dalton as senior veep and team leader for entertainment, based in New York."

Los Angeles Times, 09/07/2008 -- Only three of California’s top 20 deposit-gathering banks named in this article received four of the maximum five stars from two independent ratings firms, and City National is one of them. No other bank rated higher.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 12/06/2007 -- "The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's board of directors has appointed Russell Goldsmith, chairman and CEO of City National Bank, to represent the Twelfth Federal Reserve District on the Federal Advisory Council for a one-year term beginning in January 2008."

Bank Director, 4th Quarter 2007 -- "No. 10 City National Corp. in Beverly Hills, California is known tongue in cheek as the 'bank to the stars' for the number of Hollywood clients it serves. Its main business centers on serving high-net-worth clients."