Guardian Wealth Management is to launch new Cardiff headquarters this autumn in a move aimed at furthering its expansion plans for the UK, which are particularly focused on financial planning services.

The new head office, which will officially open on 1 September, will be led by recently-appointed UK managing director Marlene Shalton.

Sharlton was latterly with Bluefin Wealth Management; earlier in her career she established her own financial planning practice, which she sold to Bluefin in 2007.

Guardian, which has up to now been headquartered in Doncaster, plans to hire 136 certified financial planners in the UK over the next five years. The firm has said that it is focusing its efforts on opportunities in the UK market, after having built up a presence in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East.