The U.S. Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has elected Thomas Nides, chief administrative officer of Morgan Stanley, as the trade association’s chairman for 2010, SIFMA said Tuesday.

Nides takes over from Blythe Masters, global head of commodities at J.P. Morgan Chase, who becomes chair emeritus.

“Blythe’s exceptional leadership was crucial to SIFMA’s successes during the economic turmoil of the last two years and we thank her for her service,” said SIFMA’s CEO and president, Tim Ryan. “We warmly welcome SIFMA’s new team, as we look to them for leadership and guidance during the farthest-reaching regulatory reforms this industry has experienced in over seventy years.”

John Taft, president and CEO of RBC Wealth Management, has been named chair-elect of the SIFMA board. RBC says Taft will continue to lead its U.S. wealth management business while assuming this senior role with SIFMA.

“RBC is very pleased that John has been appointed as chair-elect of SIFMA,” says George Lewis, group head, RBC Wealth Management. “John’s appointment reflects the high standard of integrity, responsibility and client stewardship he has brought to both his role at RBC and to his public efforts to ensure individual investors are well served and the regulatory system is fair and efficient.”

For the past year, Taft has been the chair of SIFMA’s Private Client Group Steering Committee, and he recently testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services on behalf of SIFMA about the importance of creating a new, federal fiduciary standard for broker-dealers and investment advisers who provide advice to individual investors.

Also elected to SIFMA’s board, Bernard Beal, CEO of M.R. Beal & Co. becomes vice chair and, Alexandra Lebenthal, president and CEO of Lebenthal & Co., is treasurer.

SIFMA firms elect the board of directors, from which the chairman and other officers are elected at a board meeting during the association’s annual meeting, which wraps up Tuesday.

IE