The new firm is wholly owned by its partners, clients and staff.

Three former figures at Stanhope Capital, the European investment firm, have formed a new private investment office called Eighteen48 Partners.

Created by Julien Sevaux and Tarek AbuZayyad, the PIO has already secured more than $600 million in assets under management from its founders and a group of "prominent strategic investors", it said. The investors include shareholders, clients and advisors of the firm.

John Singer, former managing partner of private equity firm Advent International, is representing strategic shareholders on the Eighteen48 board, a statement from the firm said.

The rise of this new business highlights how, in spite of so many predictions of industry consolidation because of a need for economies of scale to cope with regulations and other pressures, this remains a highly fragmented industry, with new players entering the fray.

The new firm said it invests globally across all asset classes, allocating capital to third-party funds and also making direct investments in public and private securities.

"The firm’s investment approach is long-term and high-conviction, underpinned by primary research and deep fundamental analysis of the opportunities available. This approach is designed to address issues commonly found in the wealth management sector, such as over-diversification and market timing based on short-term economic or technical factors  - behaviours which have historically hampered investors’ returns," the statement said.

“Eighteen48 was set up by investors for investors, to address the needs of sophisticated clients including leading investment professionals, entrepreneurs, wealthy families and institutions.  Outside of their specific domain of expertise, our clients need a `home team' to manage diversified portfolios and, in many cases, which can also source, due diligence and execute on direct private market investments.  Most firms cannot do both," Sevaux said.

"Because we manage our own capital alongside that of our clients and co-invest with them in a transparent way, we have been able to build an exceptionally high degree of trust. We think of ourselves as an investment cooperative, of which we are all clients and to which we can each contribute," he said.

Eighteen48 is wholly owned by its partners, clients and employees.