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Wealth Adviser Awards 2014
Wealth adviser aWards Special Report May 2014 www.wealthadviser.co | 2
Contents
Editor: James Williams, [email protected] Online News Editor: Mark Kitchen, [email protected] Deputy Online News Editor: Emily Perryman, [email protected] Asia News Correspondent: Hans Schlaikier, [email protected] Graphic Design: Siobhan Brownlow, [email protected] Sales Managers: Simon Broch, [email protected]; Malcolm Dunn, [email protected] Marketing Administrator: Marion Fullerton, [email protected] Head of Events: Katie Gopal, [email protected] Chief Operating Officer: Oliver Bradley, [email protected] Chairman & Publisher: Sunil Gopalan, [email protected] Photographs: Chris Mikami, www.mikami.co.uk Published by: GFM Ltd, Floor One, Liberation Station, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3AS, Channel Islands Tel: +44 (0)1534 719780 Website: www.globalfundmedia.com
©Copyright 2014 GFM Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Investment Warning: The information provided in this publication should not form the sole basis of any investment decision. No investment decision should be made in relation to any of the information provided other than on the advice of a professional financial advisor. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The value and income derived from investments can go down as well as up.
Publisher
In this issue…03 Wealth Adviser Awards 2014 results
04 Opportunities abound as managers prepare for UK pensions challengeBy James Williams
06 GAMBest Wealth Manager – Cautious Portfolios
08 Saltus Investment ManagersBest Wealth Manager – Growth Portfolios
10 SunGardBest Technology Provider – Transaction Processing
13 St James’s Place Wealth ManagementBest Private Client Investment Manager
15 Quilter CheviotBest Brand Launch
17 Northern TrustBest Global Custodian
AWARDS 2014
Wealth adviser aWards Special Report May 2014 www.wealthadviser.co | 3
Results
AWARDS 2014 The winners
Best UK Client TeamSeven Investment Management
Best International Clients TeamRBC Wealth Management
Best HNW TeamUBS Wealth Management
Best UNHW Team (including private investment offices)Credit Suisse Solution Partners
Best Wealth Planning TeamHeartwood Wealth Management Limited
Best Boutique Wealth ManagerLondon & Capital Asset Management Limited
Best Private Client Investment ManagerSt James’s Place Wealth Management
Best Investment Product ProviderSource
Best Wealth Manager – CharitiesSchroders
Best Wealth Manager – Balanced PortfoliosAffinity Private Wealth
Best Wealth Manager – Cautious PortfoliosGAM
Best Wealth Manager – Growth PortfoliosSaltus Investment Managers
Best Wealth Manager – Income PortfoliosThreadneedle Investments
Best Wealth Manager – Alternative InvestmentsHSBC Private Bank
Best Multi-family OfficeBedell Family Office
Best Marketing CampaignRBC Wealth Management
Best Brand LaunchQuilter Cheviot Investment Management
Best Law Firm (Family)Family Law in Partnership
Best Law Firm (Tax and Trust)New Quadrant Partners
Best Law Firm (Defamation and Reputation)Schindlers
Best Private Client Legal TeamCarey Olsen
Best Tax & Accountancy TeamSaffery Champness
Best Property AdviserPrime Purchase
Best Trust ServicesOgier
Best Technology Provider – Front OfficeThird Financial
Best Technology Provider – Transaction ProcessingSunGard
Best Global CustodianNorthern Trust
Best International Financial Services CentreGuernsey International Finance Centre
Wealth Adviser Leadership AwardDavid Bellamy, Chief Executive, St James’s Place Wealth Management
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But as Gopalan pointed out, accessing those additional assets will favour firms “with the ability to advise and service investor demand with new and innovative long-term savings and investment products, similar to those already widely used in the US market”.
“We see a wave of consolidation going forward, with:• more fund management groups looking at
shedding their private client teams.• banking groups moving further upmarket
within the UHNW sector. • and wealth managers banding together
using economies of scale to tackle the HNW sector,” said Gopalan.
It was then, perhaps fitting for David Bellamy, Chief Executive, St James’s Place Wealth Management to be awarded the Wealth Adviser Leadership Award 2014 on the back of continued business growth over the years.
Last year alone SJP grew its New Business contribution by 16 per cent and increased funds under management by 27
This year’s Wealth Adviser Awards 2014 lunch in central London proved to be another great occasion. As the champagne flowed there was a palpable fizz in the atmosphere as some of the leading members of the wealth management community discussed trends and opportunities.
In his opening speech, Sunil Gopalan, Publisher of Wealth Adviser and Chairman of GFM Limited, its parent company, noted that further consolidation and the challenges of dealing with the changes to UK pensions savings were two dominant themes for wealth managers to contend with in 2014 and onwards.
Certainly, with respect to UK pensions regulation the growth opportunities for wealth managers could be substantial, with BlackRock estimating that GBP25bn of assets could come into play annually. The Cass Business School estimates that the value of the defined contribution pension scheme could reach GBP1.7tn by 2030.
Opportunities abound as managers prepare for UK pensions challenge
By James Williams
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per cent to GBP44.3bn. Bellamy said he was ‘humbled’ by the award but said that there was no ‘secret sauce’ behind SJP’s success.
Having the best team of people in place and a commitment to client excellence can take any wealth management business to the same heights as SJP.
Two firms that have joined forces to consolidate are Quilter & Co. Limited and Cheviot Asset Management Limited to become Quilter Cheviot Limited. The firm won this year’s award for Best Brand Launch. And the natural synergy that brought the two firms together already seems to be bearing fruit.
Since last year’s merger Quilter Cheviot has seen over 10 per cent of net organic growth in its funds under management – nearly double that of many of its peers.
“Quilter Cheviot is rapidly growing its funds under management and continues to strengthen its links with financial advisers, private clients and charitable trusts,” said CEO Martin Baines. “The investment professionals on our teams have worked together for many years and bring a variety of strengths to our collective investment process. We believe that this differentiates us from many of our competitors who adopt a centralised investment model, drawing on a limited number of opinions and views to create their investment strategies.”
Although HNW and UHNW individuals have not been aggressively building alternative assets into their fund portfolios
the realisation is that such asset classes – spanning real estate, hedge funds, private equity funds and infrastructure funds – are a necessary diversifier.
HSBC Private Bank were this year’s winner for Best Wealth Manager – Alternative Investments. Commenting on hedge fund opportunities, Peter Rigg, CEO HSBC Alternative Investments Ltd (HAIL) said: “One of our favoured strategies currently is Equity Market Neutral, which has benefited from falls in stock dispersion and from fundamental factors reasserting themselves.
“Our focus areas in private equity are Energy, Emerging Markets, Special Situations and Secondaries. In the current environment our clients continue to find the faster deployment of capital, earlier distributions, and greater visibility – which are all typical of Secondaries products – to be attractive features.”
Looking more generally, with respect to UK equities, the problem for private wealth investors is that the steam has somewhat dissipated from the markets after the FTSE 100 rallied above 6,800 last May. Since then, the market has been largely range-bound, flip-flopping between 6,400 and 6,800. Year-to-date it is up a modest 2.28 per cent.
Charles Hepworth, Head of GAM’s Model Portfolio Service, winner of this year’s Best Wealth Manager – Cautious Portfolios, said that deflation in Europe, some European banks failing the upcoming stress tests and 11
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GAM
GAMBest Wealth Manager – Cautious Portfolios
GAM is one of Europe’s largest independent active asset managers. It is a member of the GAM Holding Group, which has approximately USD128.7bn (as at 31 December 2013) of assets under management. Over the last 10 years GAM has designed and managed bespoke mandates for private clients by working with some of the world’s most highly regarded intermediaries, private clients, institutions and charities.
In 2012, GAM embarked upon establishing a model portfolio solution. This led to the hiring of Charles Hepworth from Quilter in May 2012 and the creation of GAM Model Portfolio Service six months later, which Hepworth currently heads up. GAM MPS offers a range of five risk-rated investment strategies: Defensive, Cautious, Balanced, Growth and Global Equity.
“GAM MPS invests into equity, fixed income, absolute return and alternative funds (and also cash) and each targets discrete volatility boundaries, which we feel is more closely related to the IFA community and their clients’ needs,” says Hepworth.
As for the fund’s own performance, since inception two years ago it has outperformed the IMA Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares Average Index returning 13.96 per cent (relative to 8.35 per cent for the index) in 2013.
“The returns we’ve generated in the cautious portfolio have exceeded our expectations,” says Hepworth, noting that technology was a strong performer.
“Overall, all strategies in the portfolio contributed to last year’s performance. In equity we had roughly a 55 per cent allocation on average over the year (in line with the IMA sector on average). Our median estimate was to achieve a 5 to 6 per cent return so on that basis given that the volatility was 6.6 per cent (target is 7.8 to 10.4
per cent) we achieved good risk-adjusted returns. It was a standout year for us.”
The focus of the cautious strategy is on capital protection. The equity allocation serves to generate above average returns, which is becoming increasingly necessary as fixed income returns aren’t as obvious anymore in a rising rate environment. Aside from having exposure to global government bonds, emerging market credit and alternatives (one private equity fund currently) the portfolio builds exposure through global equity funds.
“Capital protection would ordinarily push you towards fixed income but we’re having to move away from core vanilla fixed income positioning,” explains Hepworth. “We have one particular exotic fixed income fund which invests in financial names by focusing lower down the capital structure on their debt. GAM Star Credit Opportunities is managed by a delegated Geneva-based investment manager Atlanticomnium SA.”
The cautious strategy typically holds between 20 and 30 funds. The largest positions are in the above-mentioned Atlanticomnium fund (9.1 per cent) and the Ardevora UK Income fund (8.8 per cent) as at end of March 2014. “We wouldn’t go much higher than that,” says Hepworth, noting that the maximum drawdown in the strategy last year was just three per cent. Year-to-date, the strategy is up 0.7 per cent (as at 31 March 2014).
Whilst the strategy holds long/short equity funds as part of its absolute return allocation, Hepworth says that “going forward this year we will be more market neutral”.
Commenting on winning the award this year, Hepworth says: “It is always good to achieve recognition within our industry and it obviously reflects well on the hard work the whole team has put into the product since we launched this for the IFA community.” n
Charles Hepworth, CEO of GAM Model Portfolio Service
Saltus Investment Managers is a trading name of Saltus Partners LLP which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This advertisement is for investment professionals only and should not be relied on by retail investors.
LONDON OFFICE: 72 New Bond Street, 4th floor, London W1S 1RR
www.saltus.co.uk
Saltus Partners LLP is proud to have a Defaqto 5 Star Rating for discretionary fund management.
Wealth adviser aWards Special Report May 2014 www.wealthadviser.co | 8
sAltus investMent MAnAGeRs
Saltus Investment Managers
Best Wealth Manager – Growth Portfolios
Portfolio management is an art as much as it is a science and as Saltus Investment Managers like to put it, “We can’t predict the weather but we can build you an ark”.
Founded in 2004 by Simon Armstrong and Jon Macintosh, Saltus is an independently-owned investment management company, currently managing approximately GBP425mn of assets for its clients. This includes the partners’ own capital and helps to ensure a strong alignment of interests with its clients, many of which are private investors and family groups investing their pensions, trusts and ISAs.
The Saltus team comprises 20 professionals based out of the firm’s three offices in New Bond Street, London, Altrincham and Chichester. At the heart of the firm is the desire to bring discretionary investment management services to private clients that were previously the preserve of larger family offices and institutions.
The Saltus investment philosophy is to preserve and grow wealth for its clients, over time, irrespective of investing conditions.
“We achieve this through risk-based, multi-asset class investing,” explains Armstrong. “By having the ability to invest across a broader selection of asset classes, we are able to produce returns without being a prisoner to the ups and downs of any one particular asset class, in any one particular geography.”
Saltus runs three growth portfolios: Saltus 33, Saltus 50 and Saltus 67, so named because the targeted risk budget of each portfolio is set at 33 per cent, 50 per cent and 67 per cent of the equivalent risk of investing in the UK stock market, measured over a rolling 3 year period.
In terms of performance the three core
portfolios have enjoyed some very strong years. In 2005 the Saltus 50 portfolio returned 21.4 per cent and 17 per cent in 2009. Last year, the portfolio returned 11.7 per cent. Since inception the portfolio has generated compound annualised returns of 6.3 per cent compared to 3.6 per cent for the FTSE 100; moreover, it has done so with just 5.9 per cent volatility compared to 15.3 per cent for the FTSE 100.
“2013 was a good year for growth and several of our core positions managed to perform very well. Key performance drivers were our exposure to property in Macau, to higher yielding corporate debt in Europe and the US and to the mid-cap area of the UK equity market.
“Our holding in Macau Property ended the year over 80 per cent higher than where it began due to a combination of strong NAV growth, disposals and announced returns of capital and a general tightening of the discount to NAV. Acencia Debt Strategies, the investment trust through which we access the skills of US corporate debt investors returned over 20 per cent with low volatility compared to the stock market,” confirms Armstrong.
The main asset allocation tilt this year, versus 2013, has been to reduce exposure to non-GBP risk assets and recycle assets back into the UK with a focus on the small and mid-cap equity space. These still offer reasonable value, according to Armstrong.
On winning this year’s award for Best Wealth Manager – Growth Portfolios, Armstrong comments: “We are really pleased to win this accolade and absolutely delighted that our robust multi-asset class investment process has been recognised in the market place.” n
Simon Armstrong, co-founder of Saltus Investment Managers
©2014 SunGard. Trademark information: SunGard and the SunGard logo trademarks or registered trademarks of SunGard Data Systems Inc.
or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. All other trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
SunGard Financial Systems provides leading software and IT services to institutions in virtually every segment of the financial services industry.
Look for us wherever the mission is critical.
WRA1830_Mission critical advert.indd 1 20/05/2014 10:33
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SunGardBest technology Provider – transaction Processing
data views from one location, customised data and access to advisors on demand. With industry and compliance experts, our services span the wealth management continuum. In addition, wealth executives are starting to understand the benefits of alternative delivery models for ease of deployment across geographic regions.
Our services empower firms to address the strategic issues that matter most to them today: finding growth and profitability, managing risk and compliance, and achieving operational efficiency with a reduced total cost of ownership. SunGard's range of managed services, including managed IT services, business process outsourcing and cloud services, supports and operates IT systems and business processes on behalf of financial services firms worldwide.”
SunGard’s wealth management platforms are ideal, from boutique firms delivering highly tailored services to large global financial institutions.
Relationship management and client engagement:• Client acquisition and on-boarding;• Configurable client portals for personalised
service; • Comprehensive goals-based planning for
financial planners and advisors;• Document management and workflows for
managing client relationships;• Analytics and data repository for complex
analysis of data and reporting.State-of-the-art processing systems:• Real-time message-based, STP processing;• Integrated global custody, multi-currency
processing and reporting;• Cash management solutions with a wide
array of investment types;• Fees and tailored statements across a full
range of product lines;• Global securities processing, compliance
and tax reporting;• Delivery models for ease of deployment
across geographic regions;• Full integration capabilities with other
mission critical solutions. n
SunGard has more than 30 years’ experience in serving institutions that are responsible for managing trillions of dollars in global financial transactions every day. SunGard provides comprehensive wealth management solutions to bank trust departments, trust companies, institutional trusts, custodians, brokerage firms, and asset managers who need to provide multi-currency accounting and custody that support diverse operating requirements.
“As the industry moves beyond survival mode to focus on growth, the ability to adapt rapidly in the competitive market will be critical to their future success. We see technology as the key enabler for innovation and brand distinction – enterprise workflow to improve data accuracy, online portals to offer a high ROI and data repositories to unlock data across channels – all of which will be vital to a firm’s client retention and profitability. Solutions that help organisations efficiently manage client assets and enhance the client experience will be the differentiators,” comments Eileen Van Scoy, executive vice president, SunGard's wealth and retirement administration business, when asked about industry trends.
SunGard demonstrates a commitment to addressing industry requirements and to helping customers exceed client expectations. Through configurable, savvy portals, SunGard provides high-net-worth individuals access to their key data and investment information, with a selection of advisor collaboration and self-directed capabilities. SunGard continues to focus on technology investments to improve the complexity of business processes and client acquisition and on-boarding. In 2013, SunGard launched a portal toolkit and workflow consulting capabilities, providing new marketable options that help facilitate quick time-to-service.
Over the last 12 months, SunGard has taken on numerous client mandates spanning data efficiency, regulatory compliance and holistic support for clients’ multiple business lines. SunGard’s Van Scoy said, “We can offer comprehensive
Eileen Van Scoy, executive vice president of SunGard’s wealth and retirement administration business
sunGARd
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a peripheral Europe default were the main macro concerns in order of seriousness.
“People were talking about Greece before but history suggests that when countries go back into primary budget balance that’s when they find it easier to default. That would be another leftfield hit to the markets, potentially,” said Hepworth, adding that allocations to US and UK equities have been slightly reduced in the portfolio and that this year’s story is one of momentum.
“We are rotating out of areas that are extinguishing QE into areas that are going to have to do it; namely continental Europe and Japan. You’re going to lose a lot of momentum in equities when money is withdrawn through QE. We’ve been very
underweight emerging markets but there is a clear value argument to get more involved there now; both in EM equities and EM debt.”
Simon Armstrong is the co-founder of Saltus Investment Managers – winner of this year’s Best Wealth Manager – Growth Portfolios. He noted that clients have a ‘pragmatic’ positive view of the markets currently, as opposed to unbridled optimism.
With respect to underlying fund performance in the Saltus portfolio, Armstrong confirmed that the best returns were coming from niche alternative investments such as the Macau Property Fund and Acencia Debt Strategies.
“Both are investment trusts with Macau focusing on developing and selling property
5
At St. James’s Place we are delighted and proud to receive the 2014 Best Private Client Investment Manager
Award from readers of Wealth Adviser.
Our relationship-based advice service means that we are committed to helping our clients manage their wealth in a way which reflects
their personal circumstances.
The advice we provide to individuals, trustees and businesses ranges from investments through to tax planning, helping our clients grow
and protect their wealth.
If you would like to find out more about our award-winning service simply request a copy of our complimentary ‘Guide to
Wealth Management’ by calling:
The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore
go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.
0800 0138 137 or visit www.sjp.co.uk
PARTNERS IN MANAGING YOUR WEALTH
Putting clients at the centre of everything we do is core to our culture
The ‘St. James’s Place Partnership’ and the titles ‘Partner’ and ‘Partner Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.Members of the St. James’s Place Partnership represent St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc, St. James’s Place UK plc, St. James’s Place Unit Trust Group Ltd and St. James’s Place International plc are members of the St. James’s Place Wealth Management Group.
St. James’s Place UK plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.St. James’s Place Unit Trust Group Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
St. James’s Place International plc is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc Registered Office: St. James’s Place House, 1 Tetbury Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1FP, United Kingdom.
Registered in England Number 4113955.
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St James’s Place Wealth Management
Best Private Client investment ManagerIn March 2014, St James’s Place Wealth Management, with a market capitalisation of approximately GBP4.2bn and over GBP44bn in client funds under management, entered the ranks of the UK’s blue chip FTSE 100 companies, just 23 years after the Cirencester group was founded.
David Bellamy, Chief Executive Officer since 2007, comments: “At the heart of the sustained growth in our business is the importance that we place on building and maintaining long lasting relationships with, and between, our Partners and clients, serving them well and providing peace of mind through our distinctive approach to the management of their investments.”
Through the firm’s advisers, known as Partners and collectively as the St James’s Place Partnership, it offers the most comprehensive geographic access to wealth management advice in the UK. Drawing on an average of 18 years’ industry experience, its Partners’ focus is to provide clients with a highly personalised financial advice service and to nurture long-term relationships.
“Many organisations are withdrawing their client-facing advisory services,” comments Bellamy. “But we firmly believe that face-to-face advice, backed by regular communication, will continue to help our clients make well-informed decisions.”
St James’s Place works closely with clients to provide a full wealth management service from investment and retirement planning through to estate preservation and protection. The distinctive approach to investment management helps clients build investment portfolios and access an extensive range of funds.
St James’s Place does not employ its own investment managers. Instead, its Investment Committee, advised by an external investment research consultancy, Stamford Associates, selects external managers from around the globe, in a number of cases
providing unique access to the manager in the UK retail market.
Each manager’s investment style and strategy is carefully researched before the Investment Committee adds a new fund to the portfolio. Managers are continually monitored and, if confidence in a manager is lost, they will be replaced. “Our clients now have access to more than 40 high-quality investment managers from around the world,” says Bellamy. “Our broad diversification across asset classes, geographies and investment management styles within an investment portfolio mitigates risks and helps clients achieve their financial goals.”
The recent decision by St James’s Place to retain the services of one of the UK’s most respected investment managers, Neil Woodford, following his decision to leave Invesco Perpetual, demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach. The Investment Committee, assisted by Stamford Associates, was able to gain a detailed understanding of the developments and potential solutions for St James’s Place clients who had invested in its funds managed by Woodford at Invesco Perpetual. One of the largest mandate changes in UK fund management, the decision to transfer the funds to Woodford Investment Management, together with a series of other fund changes, offered clients a seamless transition and continuity of management that was unmatched.
Commenting on winning the award, Bellamy says: “We are all delighted at St James’s Place to receive the 2014 Best Private Client Investment Manager Award, which validates our approach to wealth management, the importance we place on client relationships and the hard work and commitment of the St James’s Place community. Thank you to everyone who voted and may I just add, that on a personal note, I am extremely flattered to receive the 2014 Wealth Adviser Leadership Award.” n
David Bellamy, Chief Executive Officer at St James’s Place Wealth Management
st JAMes ’s PlACe WeAlth MAnAGeMent
INVEST IN A LIFELESS ORDINARY
Quilter Cheviot Limited is registered in England with number 01923571. Quilter Cheviot Limited is a member of the London Stock Exchange and authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
SEE HOW WE’RE DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY
TEL. 020 7150 4005
OR VISIT WWW.QUILTERCHEVIOT.COM
OS004067_QC_Ad_Wealth_Adviser_297x210[1].indd 1 08/05/2014 15:46
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Quilter CheviotBest Brand launch
Martin Baines, CEO at Quilter Cheviot
building a permanent bias to any single investment style.
At the strategic level, Baines explains that Quilter Cheviot’s portfolios are “centred on the long-term returns expected from asset classes, enhanced by exploiting market inefficiencies. We also make active, shorter-term, tactical asset allocation decisions.”
Exposure to all asset classes is achieved by being structure-agnostic. A full range of ETFs, OEICs, investment trusts, structured notes or other alternatives (i.e. hedge funds, private equity, commodities, infrastructure) are used based on the prevailing market conditions, the asset class in question and the profile of the underlying client. This is one of the benefits of being an independent asset manager.
“The investment professionals on our teams have worked together for many years and bring a variety of strengths to our collective investment process. We believe that this differentiates us from many of our competitors who adopt a centralised investment model, drawing on a limited number of opinions and views to create their investment strategies,” adds Baines.
Indeed, the firm’s dedicated research team supplements its internal research process through meetings with management teams. This helps maintain awareness both at the individual company level and industry-wide level. “We believe this combination of innovative, independent thinking backed up by a well-resourced and structured research process has helped us to maintain a strong track record of providing long term returns via our client portfolios,” says Baines, who, on winning the award this year concludes:
“We are delighted. It is always a risk to change your brand but I think it has made Quilter Cheviot stand out in the investment market. The award is a fantastic achievement and we are thrilled to have been recognised by Wealth Adviser.” n
Last June saw the successful merger of Quilter & Co. Limited and Cheviot Asset Management Limited to become Quilter Cheviot Limited. In so doing, it has become of the largest independently owned bespoke investment management firms with GBP15.5bn of funds under management and over 160 investment managers based across the UK, Jersey and Ireland.
The merger was very much a natural fit given that both had similar investment processes, both were independently owned and had investment managers who also function as relationship managers. “These similarities have made it easy for us to work as one company,” says CEO Martin Baines.
This synergy has helped bring a number of benefits to Quilter Cheviot’s clients such as:• Access to an investment process and
research capability that has combined the best from both former firms
• Improved reporting and client communications
• An unbiased approach to investments as one of the UK's largest independently owned discretionary investment firms
• Access to services across 13 offices in the UK, Dublin and Jersey.
Asked whether the success of this merger can be borne out by an increase in firm-wide FuM, Baines responds: “Yes, we have seen net organic growth of over 10 per cent in our first year of trading – this is nearly double that of our major competitors. Quilter Cheviot is rapidly growing its funds under management and continues to strengthen its links with financial advisers, private clients and charitable trusts.”
Critical to the ongoing success of Quilter Cheviot is the pursuit of a common investment philosophy. The firm is a strong advocate of active investment management both in terms of strategic asset allocation and security selection and guards against
Qu ilteR Chev iOt
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Northern TrustBest Global Custodian
We at Northern Trust were delighted to win the Wealth Adviser Global Custodian of the Year Award at the recent Wealth Adviser awards ceremony. It is a worthy reflection of the hard work and commitment our team devotes to servicing our clients.
The Global Family Offices group is a dedicated boutique practice within Northern Trust, which provides highly customised master global custody, trust and multi manager investment solutions to wealthy individuals, their families, family offices and family foundations.
Today the Northern Trusts’ Global Family & Private Investment Offices group works with approximately 400 families globally, including 20 per cent of the Forbes 400 wealthiest Americans. Our clients have combined assets under custody of approximately USD319 billion with Northern Trust, with assets per family under custody ranging from USD200 million to several billion. Our clients are served by 260 dedicated staff who operate from offices in London, Guernsey, Abu Dhabi, Miami and Chicago.
Our clients implement sophisticated investment solutions, utilising multiple external, domestic and global money managers and require complex reporting. Consequently, they often work within the framework of a family office to manage and oversee a wide variety of financial needs and wealth transfer strategies.
Our families, their family offices and foundations benefit directly from Northern Trust’s institutional platform and operational capabilities and are supported by a dedicated team of family office experts within the Global Family & Private Investment Offices group. We foster long term personal relationships by providing unrivaled service, proactive advice and customised solutions based upon each family’s unique needs.
These services include: • Global asset servicing and fund
administration;• Consolidated financial reporting utilising
cutting-edge technology;
• Contemporary trustee and fiduciary services;
• Multi Manager Investment Solutions• Institutional investment advisory and
programme management;• Global asset management and trade
execution; • Asset based credit and private finance;• Family governance, education,
benchmarks and family office networking.
Why families choose Northern TrustWe are focused on families. Since our inception, we have provided comprehensive solutions, including trust and asset administration. In addition, we have the ability to really understand a family’s goals, whether it is educating younger generations about wealth, establishing or optimising a family office or setting up a foundation; we have the scale, flexibility and expertise to help our families achieve these goals.
Our core business of custody, combined with our founding principles of service, expertise and integrity, puts us in a strong financial position. Throughout the ongoing economic turmoil, Northern Trust has remained strong and stable, maintaining one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry.
Our technology is unsurpassed in the industry. Our single operating platform and global system architecture support both of our businesses and all of our distribution channels, granting Northern Trust advantages in reconciliation, data quality, and expense management.
Northern Trust’s legacy spans 125 years and we are one of the world’s highest rated and most stable financial institutions, providing investment management, asset and fund administration, banking solutions and fiduciary services to corporations, institutions and affluent individuals worldwide.
Our heritage gives us a unique insight into the needs of our clients and to this day we adhere to the same principles upon which we were founded by the Smith Family – Service, Expertise and Integrity. n
Daniel Lindley, Managing Director, EMEA, Global Family & Private Investment Offices at Northern Trust
nORtheRn tRust
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in the booming city state and Acencia focusing on driving returns from US debt managers, with a particular tilt to turnaround situations. Alongside these corporate bond funds such as Artemis Strategic or Kames High Yield have been steady, solid performers,” said Armstrong.
Going back to the consolidation theme within wealth management, last year saw the acquisition of Heartwood – winner of the Best Wealth Planning Team – by Swedish bank Handelsbanken. The acquisition will give Heartwood access to a broader range of clients with a need for both banking and wealth management solutions.
“These include SMEs as well as clients from professional services backgrounds serviced by the 173 Handelsbanken branches across the UK, which will complement our existing financial services focused client base which includes investment bankers, FTSE quoted directors and private equity partners,” said Simon Dixon, Head of Private Clients.
Dixon said that Heartwood acknowledged that clients needed to access the firm in many ways. In addition to its Private Wealth Management service, Heartwood has launched Financial Planning and online Self Select services in response to the needs of Handelsbanken customers.
“We are focusing on depth of our client relationships through appointment of first rate advisers who not only have strong technical strengths, but also possess natural empathy and understanding for a client’s situation, feelings and goals. This allows us to place “advice” at the heart of our solutions for clients and take a step back rather than act
in haste in order to solve investment issues that are in isolation of client needs.
“At Heartwood there is a strong belief that the best interest of our clients is served by pooling our intellectual capital so that clients share the same investment experience for an equal tolerance to risk and also benefit from a robust advisory framework. That said, we believe that delivery of personal service can never be compromised,” said Dixon.
Aside from investment, advisory and regulatory challenges, wealth management firms are becoming increasingly reliant on technology solutions to manage everything from portfolio performance and risk, through to accounting and transaction processing.
One firm that continues to lead from the front in its support of wealth managers is SunGard, winner of this year’s award for Best Technology Provider – Transaction Processing.
Financial institutions look to their trust accounting system as a core platform to deliver a complete wealth management solution. Eileen Van Scoy, EVP, SunGard wealth & retirement administration business commented: “We continue to focus on enterprise workflow and data warehousing capabilities to increase the firms’ ability to receive data efficiently from applications like financial planning and CRM, as well as to pass data through the enterprise. Recent investments include: tools to manage complex analysis of data, enterprise-level reporting, managed workflows, and data accessibility to a front-office user or a client user to enhance the customer experience. In 2013, we launched a portal toolkit and workflow consulting capabilities.” n
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