Douglas Regan, the newly appointed head of wealth management for US institutional investment management and banking firm, Northern Trust, to...

Douglas Regan, the newly appointed head of wealth management for US institutional investment management and banking firm, Northern Trust, told WealthBriefing yesterday he expected the London market to be the best prospect for growing company’s ultra-wealthy personal financial services business next year and into 2008. Mr Regan, who was appointed executive vice president for the Chicago-based company and head of Northern Trust’s $124 billion in assets under custody wealth management group, said he expected the newly-created London wealth business to achieve double-digit revenue growth in the next 12-month. Mr Regan, a 21-year veteran with Northern Trust and formerly head of personal financial services for Northern Trust's Florida operation, is now responsible for the strategic direction of the group, which serves 352 family relationships in 15 countries. Northern Trust Wealth Management Group, formed in 1982, provides financial services to affluent individuals and families who generally have assets exceeding $75 million including 22 per cent of the Forbes 400 Richest Americans. Mr Regan told WealthBriefing there is a lot of “money in motion” in the US following a spate of recent mergers and acquisitions between big wealth management firms. Most notable has been Bank of America’s acquisition of US Trust Corporation from The Charles Schwab Corporation; and the Bank of New York Company’s merger with Mellon Financial Corporation. “We’re trying to be dedicated and focused on clients while our competitors are distracted,” said Mr Regan. However, he said the same dynamic of contraction occurring in the US industry is not as prevalent in Europe. “While the money in motion will help us grow our US business, that’s not the case in Europe where we’ll be hoping to take business from competitors,” he said. Mr Regan said Northern Trust currently has a dedicated staff of around a dozen in wealth management in London and an institutional business in Guernsey in the Channel Islands.