London-based Veritas Asset Management, a subsidiary of The Real Return Group, has appointed Mark Rayward as head of private client business in the UK.

Mr Rayward will be joining the company in April 2010 from Newton Investment Management, where he was deputy chief executive with responsibility for private clients and charities.

In the past Mr Rayward worked closely with Stewart Newton, founder of Newton Investment Management and current director of Veritas, and Charles Richardson, former chief investment officer at Newton and present chief executive of Veritas.

Currently, Veritas Private Client business manages over £500 million ($830.3 million) of client assets.

“Mark has agreed to join us at an exciting time for the firm and we very much look forward to working with him again.  Charles Richardson and I have known Mark for over 20 years and he will be a fantastic addition to the team,” said Mr Newton.

In other recent hires, in September Veritas appointed Ian Fridlington as private client director, reporting to Anthony Rosenfelder.