A new wealth management headhunting firm, Valens Goldberg, has been set up by a consortium of private investors, this publication can exclusively report.

The syndicate of private backers for the business is lead by its chief executive, Ronald Schimmel, a former commodities trader, the firm said in a statement.

One of the principal figures in the firm is Sophie De Ferranti, former head of private wealth management at Execuzen, another recruitment firm. She has worked for more than a decade in the sector. She has selectively recruited a team who will be based from the new offices in Mayfair. Among the team is Julia Reece, who joins as head of research, the statement said.

Valens Goldberg will mark the opening of its subsidiary office in Singapore this month and is also to set up a base in Zurich. The firm’s coverage includes London and the Channel Islands, Switzerland, Monaco, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Central and Eastern European territories.

The creation of the new firm highlights how the headhunter business in wealth management remains highly active. A report in late May by Cornhill Consultancy, a boutique executive search service, said the jobs market within the executive search sector, which weakened in 2008, is now stabilising and improving in selected markets.

Valens Goldberg is also a lead sponsor of Private Wealth Management Summit Asia 2010, to take place in Hong Kong on 22 June. De Ferranti told WealthBriefing that its involvement signalled how vital Asia is to her firm’s future strategy. “We are building long term multi-jurisdictional partnerships with our banking clients to actively manage the emerging talent gap in Europe and Asia,” she said.

De Ferranti is a regular contributor to media outlets including this publication on trends in the executive search sector.