People Moves
Senior Appointments At Barclays Wealth, Morgan Stanley
Two of the big heavyweights in wealth management have announced senior appointments on Monday. Barclays Wealth has promoted Aaron Gurwitz as chief investment officer and head of research, economics and strategy, and Kevin Gardiner as head of global investment strategy. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management has made a senior hire in the Middle East.
Gurwitz joined Barclays Wealth in 2008 as part of its acquisition of the Lehman Brothers Private Investment Management business in the US; before joining Lehman in 2004 he worked at Goldman Sachs for 16 years. In his new role he oversees organisations providing macro-economic forecasting, economic research, strategic asset allocation and regionally-customised investment strategies for the firm’s high net worth clients globally, as well as the groups that handle manager due diligence.
He reports to Mitch Cox, who was formerly acting as CIO but will now focus exclusively on his responsibilities as head of global research and investments and head of Barclays Wealth Americas.
Gardiner joined the firm in 2009 and prior to his recent promotion was head of investment strategy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. His earlier career includes roles at other well-known banks such as HSBC and Morgan Stanley.
At Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, a division of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, the firm hired Gabriel Aractingi as a managing director and head of sales for the Middle East from Lombard Odier, where he was executive vice president and head of the Middle East.
In his new Dubai-based role, Aractingi will report jointly to Ausaf Abbas, head of sales and marketing, PWM EMEA, and Habib Achkar, regional manager for the MENA region. He will lead Morgan Stanley’s private banking business in the Middle East and manage a team of investment advisers across Dubai, London, Geneva and Riyadh.
Achkar said the appointment demonstrated a commitment to the MENA region by the firm, which has recently said it plans to slim down its US business and pursue growth internationally.