Close Brothers Expands Wealth Management Business

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

27 April 2006

Close Brothers, the UK-based investment banking and wealth management group, has announced plans to expand its private client services, with the recruitment of 14 portfolio managers to its high net worth business, Close Private Asset Management.

Close Brothers revealed this week that the portfolio managers will join the Group from Singer & Friedlander. Most are expected to commence employment in July.

Close Brothers’ Private Client business currently manages GBP2.5 billion ($4.46 billion) and administers GBP4.5 billion with offices in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Stirling, Northwich, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. This initiative will increase the number of investment professionals to over 40.

Close says that its increased focus on this line of business has already delivered strong profit growth for the Group, and the firm is of the view that there are attractive opportunities in the high-net-worth-individual market as a complement to its existing mass affluent and offshore wealth management businesses.

While Close intends that the London recruits will increase the scale of the business in the important London market, the Leeds recruits will open up a new location in what the company considers is an attractive regional market.

Meanwhile, Close says that the Isle of Man recruits will leverage the existing offshore presence more fully, and deepen the investment capability.

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