The latest moves, personnel changes and appointments in wealth management in the UK, rest of Europe, the Middle East and other select jurisdictions.

Chetwood Financial
Andy Mielczarek is stepping down as CEO of UK challenger bank Chetwood Financial almost 10 years on from having co-founded the company. Paul Noble will replace him, subject to regulatory approval, the firm said.

Founded in 2016, Wrexham-based Chetwood Financial digital bank received a restricted banking licence in late 2017 before being granted a full UK banking licence in December 2018. Since 2019, more than £3.5 billion ($4.66 billion) has been deposited with Chetwood Financial’s savings proposition SmartSave. The firm is among a number of digital disruptors of financial services. So far, they are mainly a retail and mass-affluent phenomenon, rather than serving the high net worth end of the spectrum. (See this story about UK-based Monument for a comparison.)

Earlier in 2024, the company also entered the buy-to-let mortgage market with the acquisition of the specialist lender CHL Mortgages Andy Mielczarekfor Intermediaries from Barossa Asset Purchaser Sarl in May and will launch ModaMortgages soon.  

Mielczarek Chetwood Financial’s CEO, has been since its inception. Before this he was the deputy head of HSBC’s UK retail bank, having previously been commercial director and head of retail products for HSBC Europe. Prior to that, his roles have included chief financial officer at M&S Bank, head of commercial finance at MBNA, and brokerage operations director at Charles Schwab. 

Noble will be joining Chetwood Financial from JN Bank UK, where he was CEO of the banking outfit whose products and services include savings accounts, loans and mortgages. Before JN Bank, Noble spent six years at Pollen Street Capital, an asset manager focused on financial services. 

M&G Investments
Joe Sullivan-Bissett has joined M&G Investments fixed Income division as an investment director, reporting to David Parsons, head of the fixed income specialist team.

With more than a decade of industry experience, Sullivan-Bissett is the lead investment specialist on M&G’s global macro strategies and sterling credit funds, which supports investment and distribution teams across the UK and internationally. He joined M&G from Amundi, where he was an investment specialist within the firm’s global fixed income team, covering a range of credit strategies. Prior to that, he served in a number of roles at Insight Investment, including investment specialist for fixed income strategies, the firm said in a statement.

The appointment strengthens the growing team, with other recent additions including Riccardo Cumerlato who joined from M&G’s restructuring team earlier this year. Cumerlato, who has debt capital markets and fixed income knowledge, will be covering a wide range of fundamental credit strategies.

M&G’s commitment to supporting internal talent has also seen Harry Bullamore recently promoted to investment director, the firm added.

7IM
In line with expanding and developing its investment capabilities, 7IM has bolstered its investment management team by hiring Asim Qadri and Brian Leitao.

Qadri and Leitao, who are both joining as investment managers, will report to Uwe Ketelsen, head of portfolio management. In their new roles, they will be enhancing and deepening 7IM’s fund selection and portfolio management capabilities.

With a decade of experience in the sector, Qadri spent the last three years in abrdn’s multi-asset team, where he was responsible for investment manager research and portfolio construction across various asset classes. Before then, he worked in similar roles at Architas, Mercer, and Société Générale. Qadri graduated with a BSc in economics from the University of Warwick and is a CFA charterholder.

Leitao has eight years of investment experience gathered at Fundhouse, EQ Investors, Morningstar and most recently Mercer. Throughout his career, he has conducted fund research across a broad range of sectors and geographies, both actively and passively managed. He also performed asset class research more broadly across wealth and institutional teams. Leitao graduated with a BSc in mathematical economics and statistics from the University of Birmingham, before pursuing a master’s degree in financial economics from the University of Leicester.

“We have a strong belief in the value-add of fund selection expertise for our clients and we are looking forward to the diversity of thought Asim and Brian will bring into our multi-asset capabilities and overall investment process,” Ketelsen said.

Qadri’s and Leitao’s appointments follow a series of hires across the business by 7IM this year, with further recruitment underway. See earlier reports here and here.