The latest moves and appointments for wealth management roles in the UK, and other parts of Europe, the Middle East and select international locations.

Titanbay
London-headquartered Titanbay, a European private markets infrastructure provider, has appointed Ludovico Buffo (pictured) to lead its wealth business in Italy.

In Italy, wealth clients have adopted private markets faster than almost anywhere else in Europe, Titanbay said in a statement. What holds the market back now is rarely appetite; it is the operational and technology infrastructure needed to offer these funds properly, the firm said in a statement. Buffo's remit is to close that gap, working with banks, wealth managers and asset managers across Italy to bring private markets funds to their clients without the manual processes and operational risk the industry still treats as normal.

Buffo, who brings expertise across both investments and technology, was formerly with MainStreet Partners, where he supported Italian banks and asset managers on ESG, data and investments. Before that he worked at Russell Investments covering institutional business development and responsible investing. He began his career on the trading floor at Crédit Agricole CIB.

“Italian wealth managers want private markets. The blocker has never been demand, it has been infrastructure,” Sheryl Needham, global head of sales at Titanbay, said. “Ludovico understands both sides of that problem, the investment case and the technology that makes it work. He is exactly the person to build our presence in Italy.”

Aventur
Aventur, a financial wellbeing fintech, has appointed Matthew Bowen as private office partner to its “premium,” full-service wealth management and dedicated financial advisory tier Privé by Aventur.

Bowen, who has more than two decades of specialist financial planning experience, will be providing regulated financial advice to Privé’s clients, with a remit that includes strategic wealth advisory, wealth planning and structuring, and succession planning, alongside offshore bond expertise, banking and lending coordination, and the coordination of external legal, tax, fiduciary and specialist partners. He will work with founders Stacey Body, CEO and co-founder and Thomas Young, as well as the wider leadership team as Aventur builds out its Private Office proposition.

Previously, Bowen worked at a boutique financial planning firm where he spent more than 11 years in progressively senior roles, most recently as financial planner and technical director, having oversight of the financial planning team and the provision of trust corporation services. Earlier in his career, he worked as a paraplanner where he developed his expertise in estate planning, including wills, financial trusts and frameworks for larger estates. Bowen’s career has been built on the delivery of bespoke, technically complex and integrated advice to high net worth and ultra-HNW, families and businesses. He holds an LLB (Hons) in law from the University of Birmingham, a foundation that has underpinned a career defined by rigorous, cross-disciplinary advisory work spanning wealth structuring, trusts, corporate advice, estate and succession planning, the firm said in a statement.

“Matthew will be a significant asset to the Privé team. His depth of technical expertise, his track record with HNW and UHNW clients, and his genuine passion for putting clients’ interests at the centre of everything he does are exactly what we look for at Aventur,” Body said. "We’re building something genuinely different at Aventur, and Matthew’s passion and experience aligns with our vision perfectly. His appointment will strengthen our ability to serve clients with more complex financial planning needs, and we look forward to the knowledge he will bring.”

Having secured strategic growth funding from a Dutch family office at the end of 2025, the company has accelerated product development, strengthening its data capabilities and scaling its team, it said. Aventur is among the first cohort admitted to the FCA’s Supercharged Sandbox, reflecting its commitment to responsible, compliant AI innovation in financial services.

Aberdeen Adviser
Aberdeen Adviser, a provider of one of the UK’s largest advisor platforms by assets, has made a number of senior leadership appointments to support its long-term growth ambitions. The appointments ensure that the business has the right balance of leadership, expertise and accountability as it responds to changing adviser needs and an evolving market environment, the firm said in a statement.

Ranila Ravi-Burslem is joining as chief distribution officer and Heather Curtis as chief client experience officer, starting on 5 October. Aron Mitchell joined from Aberdeen Investments as chief financial officer on 1 September. In addition, Jonny Black,chief client experience officer, has been appointed chief strategy and commercial officer, a newly-created role.

Ravi-Burslem will lead the sales teams and bring together accountability for distribution strategy, advisor acquisition and retention. She will be joining from Lloyds Banking Group, where she was managing director, Insurance & Pensions Distribution. Her career spans leadership roles across Lloyds Banking Group, Aviva and NEST, giving her experience in pensions, intermediary distribution, customer strategy and commercial growth, which aligns closely with Aberdeen Adviser’s next phase of growth.

Curtis will oversee client experience and assurance, with accountability for customer service and end-customer outcomes across the business. She has experience spanning pensions, platforms, wealth management and retail banking. Most recently, she served as operations and service transformation director at Newcastle Strategic Solutions, leading a large-scale outsourced savings operation supporting 14 UK financial institutions. Her experience also spans M&G Wealth, Royal London, Capita and Bank of Scotland, giving her a strong track record in operational leadership, service transformation and customer delivery.

Mitchell will lead the Adviser Finance team. He will replace Louise Williams, the Adviser CFO, who will depart to take up an external opportunity. However, she will remain with the business for a handover period.

Black will lead commercial delivery and strategic execution, helping to ensure that the business remains responsive to client needs and market opportunities while continuing to drive growth, the firm said. The role has been created to bring sharper focus and pace to commercial execution as the advisor market consolidates and buying decisions become more analytical and commercially driven. This will help to convert Aberdeen Adviser’s improved proposition and client experience into more disciplined and predictable growth.

"We’re moving into an exciting new phase for Aberdeen Adviser, building on real progress in pricing, platform competitiveness and client experience. These appointments further strengthen the Aberdeen Adviser leadership team and reflect our long-term commitment to advisprs,” Rich Denning, CEO, Aberdeen Adviser, said. “Ranila, Heather, Aron and Jonny each bring deep industry expertise, proven leadership credentials and a shared focus on delivering great outcomes for advisors and their clients, as we move into this next phase of growth from a position of strength.”

“I would also like to thank Louise for her hard work, commitment and significant contribution to the Adviser business. She has been a huge support to me since I joined Aberdeen and leaves to take on an external opportunity with our very best wishes for the future,” Denning added.

St James’s Place
UK-based St James’s Place has appointed three additional financial services professionals, joining the partnership as experienced appointed representatives (ARs) to build their own advice businesses.

Wilma Edwards, Paul Telford and Nick Dixon, who have joined SJP as advisors, bring a range of experience from companies including Fairstone, Santander, Quilter and within the SJP Partnership. They have decades of combined financial services and wealth management experience between them. They are joining a partnership of nearly 5,000 advisors and about 2,700 partner practices.

Edwards, of W E Wealth, based in Northumberland, has a decade of experience with Santander, Quilter and Fairstone, with more than four of those years advising. She covers retirement planning, estate planning, wealth accumulation and protection.

Based in Newcastle, Telford of Paul Telford Financial Planning, is joining from Fairstone where he amassed around 130 clients and £25 million of assets under management. He started his financial services career with Halifax in 2010 as a banking consultant, which included protection advice.

Dixon, of Nick Dixon Financial Planning, comes from a background of working for a St James’s Place partner practice as a technical paraplanner and advisor, based in Northamptonshire.

“We are delighted to welcome Wilma, Paul and Nick to the SJP Partnership. They bring a significant range of experience in financial services and the advice profession, with a commitment to building their businesses and offering long-term relationships with their clients, which in turn strengthens what SJP offers in the UK,” James Rainbow, chief executive of St James’s Place Wealth Management said. "The decision of these experienced advisors to join SJP reflects the continued strength and appeal of our partnership model and the breadth and depth of support we provide to advisors."