People Moves

Who’s Moving Where In Wealth Management? – Close Brothers AM, Quilter Cheviot, MSCI

Editorial Staff 10 May 2023

Who’s Moving Where In Wealth Management? – Close Brothers AM, Quilter Cheviot, MSCI

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

Close Brothers Asset Management
Close Brothers Asset Management has appointed Adam Finlay as investment manager, based in the firm’s Birmingham office, to help build its regional presence.

He is responsible for developing, implementing and managing investment portfolio strategies to meet the objectives of high net worth clients, including private individuals, corporates, trusts, and charities.

With over 10 years’ experience in the wealth management sector, he began his career at Capelin Financial Management, a local West Midlands IFA firm, before joining Investec Wealth & Investment in 2016.

Launched last year, the Birmingham office is one of the firm’s most important hubs outside London, with an integrated team of financial advisors and investment managers. Giles Marshall, head of bespoke at Close Brothers AM, said: “As we continue to build our regional presence across the UK, we are delighted to have Adam as a valuable member of the CBAM team.”

Quilter Cheviot 
Wealth Manager Quilter Cheviot has hired Margaret Schmitt as a responsible investment analyst.
 
Schmitt is joining Quilter from infrastructure consulting firm AECOM, where she was a climate and sustainability consultant. She has a background in sustainability, environmental policy, and ecological restoration, the firm said in a statement.
 
Schmitt, who will report to Gemma Woodward, head of responsible investment at Quilter Cheviot, will be helping to develop Quilter Cheviot’s investment climate action plan, working towards achieving its net zero target. She will also be leading on themed engagements to understand and assess the climate transition plans of companies and funds, as well as carrying out policy engagement and informing Quilter Cheviot’s voting decisions, the firm continued.
 
The responsible investment team at Quilter Cheviot oversees the company’s stewardship programme, ESG integration and ESG screening as well as supporting more targeted solutions for clients who want their portfolios to reflect specific interests or preferences. Gemma Woodward, head of responsible investment at Quilter Cheviot, said: “This new role adds another dimension to our team and ensures we can give as much attention to climate related issues as we possibly can.”

MSCI  
MSCI, a provider of decision-support tools and services for the global investment community, has appointed Ashley Lester as global head of research and as a member of MSCI’s executive committee. 

Based in London, Lester will report to Baer Pettit, president, the firm said in a statement. He will be responsible for the development of MSCI’s research across its product lines and client segments of asset managers, asset owners, banks, corporates, hedge funds, insurance companies, and wealth managers. He will also partner with MSCI’s product, client coverage, technology, and marketing teams to ensure the development of research, analysis, and solutions that aim to help investors navigate a rapidly transforming investment landscape.

Welcoming the move, Pettit said: "Ashley is an innovative thinker and brings with him a wealth of expertise as an investor, in business leadership and quantitative and qualitative analysis.” 

Lester has over a decade of experience in business leadership, investment management, and multi-asset class investment research. Previously, he spent eight years at Schroders in London, most recently as the founding head of systematic investments, the firm continued. He had also previously served in Schroders’ Multi-Asset Investment Group as head of multi-asset research, leading research into portfolio construction, asset allocation modelling, and capital market assumptions.

Before Schroders, Lester spent two years at New York-based MSCI as the head of fixed income and multi-asset class research, where he managed MSCI’s global team of researchers covering fixed income, multi-asset class modelling, and valuation, managing the research agenda for MSCI’s market-leading risk solutions. Before joining MSCI, he was managing director and head of market risk analytics at Morgan Stanley.

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