The appointment of a former senior figure from Deutsche Bank, Close Brothers AM and Coutts comes a few days after Evelyn Partners said it had agreed to spin off its professional services arm.

Matthew Spencer, a former senior figure at Close Brothers Asset Management, Deutsche Bank and Coutts is joining Evelyn Partners as its new head of intermediaries.

Spencer (pictured) will be succeeding Craig Wright, head of the UK independent financial advisor arm, who will be returning home to Australia next year.  

These are busy times for Evelyn Partners. Last week, it announced that it had agreed to sell its professional services business to funds advised by Apax Partners.

Among his previous roles in a 40-year wealth management career, Spencer headed business development and marketing at Close Brothers Asset Management, was head of intermediaries for Deutsche Bank, and head of business development at Coutts.

He will be joining a firm that has, via organic growth and M&A, reached overseeing £62.7 billion ($79.5 billion) of assets under management. Spencer will report to chief investment management director Chris Kenny, Evelyn Partners said in a statement yesterday. 

"His [Spencer’s] extensive industry knowledge will add to the momentum our existing team have built up over the past year and set us on the right path as we navigate into 2025,” Kenny said. “Craig Wright has made an enormous contribution to Evelyn Partners over the past 17 years and will leave the company at the end of Q1 as a friend to whom we owe so much after making the decision to return to his home in Australia.”

Now a substantial UK wealth manager, Evelyn Partners’ story dates back to when funds of private equity house Permira bought the Bestinvest IFA firm and combined it with Tilney in 2014. The group acquired Towry Group in 2016 and merged with Smith & Williamson in 2020, which was supported by funds advised by Warburg Pincus, another private equity firm.