UK-based Weatherbys Private Bank has launched its first investment management service: a discretionary portfolio offering based on absolute return and relative return funds.

Heading up the new service is Roddy Buchanan, formerly head of wealth management at Ansbacher and Co.

Four core investment portfolios have been developed, each with different risk/reward profiles but all designed to be simple to access and transparent about costs, the firm said in a statement. A three-tiered fund selection process will be employed, combining internal research, external consultants and an independent investment committee chaired by Roger Weatherby, the bank’s chief executive.

“Our ethos is to keep things simple for the client,” Weatherby said in a statement, adding that the investment service will be “cautious” and focus on “protection, security and safety.”

The funds will all be third-party and selected on an open architecture basis, with Pershing – part of BNY Mellon – acting as custodian. Asset Risk Consultants has been retained by the bank to consult on risk profiling, portfolio structuring, manager selection and ongoing performance monitoring.

Weatherbys was founded in 1770 and remains under the ownership of the Weatherby family; however, it changed from a family partnership to a limited company in 1994, when it acquired a deposit-taking licence from the UK regulator.