The IAM offering is similar to those which the EFG group already runs in markets such as Switzerland, other parts of continental Europe, Asia and Latin America.

EFG Private Bank, the UK arm of Swiss private bank EFG International, has launched a platform in London directly aimed at independent asset managers, mirroring the group’s international offerings.

The IAM UK Desk will complement EFG's other services catering to multi-family offices, IAMs and wealth managers wanting support for serving their own clients. 

EFG said the team will provide clients with a platform for order management, the ability to book in the UK, a streamlined account opening process and a product offering ranging from complex alternatives to wealth planning.

Ian Wright, head of the UK IAM business, will lead the team and report to Michael Vlahovic, head of UK private banking, and Daniel Ioannis Zürcher, global IAM head. Wright has 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry, internationally, the last 12 of which have been within the IAM space. He is joined by David Holmes, who has 10 years of both operational and relationship experience in the IAM market, and Kristina Donnelly, who has worked at EFGIUK for 10 years.

“There is a real gap in the market for a premium IAM service, particularly as we continue to see healthy growth in the number of entrepreneurial multi-family offices and wealth managers looking for private banks such as EFG to serve their sophisticated client base,” Vlahovic said.

Zürcher said the firm is already strongly positioned in the IAM segment, particularly in Switzerland, Continental Europe, LatAm and Asia. 

WealthBriefing has asked EFG for detail including the revenue model for this business, what lessons it brings from other IAM markets, why it is launching the service at this particular time, and other details. An update will be provided in due course.