James Hambro & Partners, the private client asset manger, has merged with Calkin Pattinson, a financial planner concentrated on the high net worth market. The merged group will combine financial planning and discretionary portfolio management.

The combined group, which will trade under the James Hambro brand, will have more than £1 billion ($1.57 billion) in assets under management, advice and administration.

Andy Steel, chief executive of the combined group, told WealthBriefing that he thinks the new business will particularly appeal to clients with between £1 million and £5 billion in investible assets. "These clients are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the major banks, which are moving away from bespoke to more packaged solutions," he said.

"Most private banks are looking for clients with between £5 million and £10 million for them to give them personal service, and there is a lot of unhappiness in the segment below that threshold," Steel said.