Exton area investors who have put their money and trust in the hands of veteran Citadel wealth manager Jim McCrudden reaped a significant yield of morale on Friday, when his selection as one of the nation’s 50 best program managers was announced by Bank Investment Consultant magazine.

Their man, a longtime bank executive and wealth management pioneer, ranked No. 35 on the list and trailed only two other Pennsylvanians — neither of them closer to the Philadelphia market in which he has distinguished himself.

“Being named one of the top program managers in the country is a great endorsement of the outstanding work by Jim and his team,” Citadel Senior Vice President Ed Maier said in response to the article. “This is a very deserving award for Jim. Under his leadership, his team works tirelessly to offer our customers the very best value in banking and investment services, and receiving this award is testament to that hard work and dedication.”

McCrudden currently serves as Citadel’s vice president of investment and insurance services and is affiliated with CUSO Financial Services. His 25 years in the industry has provided the expertise needed to launch Citadel’s wealth management division and grow it to 17 employees and more than half a billion dollars in managed assets.

The accolade quantified McCrudden’s skills through a calculation of his percentage growth in team assets under management, percentage growth in team production, production per advisor, number of advisors and number of licensed branch employees under supervision.

See the rest of Bank Investment Consultant’s top 20 here and top 50 here.