The latest moves and appointments in wealth management in the UK, the rest of Europe, the Middle East and other select locations.

Cazenove Capital
Cazenove Capital, a UK-based wealth management businesses and part of the Schroders group, has appointed Richard Wood as a portfolio director in the North East.

Wood (pictured), who will work with individuals, families and professional advisors across Yorkshire, will take advantage of the growing community of entrepreneurs and business owners. His appointment is the latest development in Cazenove Capital’s regional growth strategy, the firm said in a statement. Since January 2022, the firm has opened two new offices and made strategic hires in the Midlands, South West, North West, Scotland and London.

In this newly-created role, Wood will work closely with Simon Pearson, regional head of Cazenove Capital in the North of England.

Wood, who has more than 20 years of experience, is joining from UBS where he spent over five years as a director, working with high net worth clients across the North of England. Prior to UBS, he spent just over 10 years at Barclays Wealth Management, based in Yorkshire.

“Richard’s appointment reflects Cazenove Capital’s continued focus on bringing a tailored wealth management service, backed by the global expertise of Schroders, to clients across the North of England,” Karan Sejpal, head of business owners and entrepreneurs, and head of regions at Cazenove Capital, said. 

Ascot Lloyd
Ascot Lloyd, a UK independent financial advisor), has appointed Jaco Cebula as group technology director, starting this week.

This newly-created role is part of the firm’s digitalisation strategy to enhance the advisor and end client experience, the firm said in a statement. Cebula will sit within the executive team and will report to Christian Burgess, chief financial operating officer. The IT, operational resilience, and analytics teams will report to Cebula.

Using the experience he has acquired across the wealth and investment management sectors over 25 years, Cebula will be responsible for designing, leading, and implementing the overarching technology strategy. The focus will be on building technological solutions to drive efficiencies across the business and to improve user experience, the firm added.

For the past 18 months, Cebula has worked with the Ascot Lloyd team in his role as a technology consultant for Sionic, a global consulting firm. Previously, he served as chief technology officer at Multrees Investor Services and as a member of the IT management team at Aegon Asset Management, the firm continued. 

“We are acutely aware of the need to make financial planning more accessible and easier to navigate for clients. We look forward to watching our digital transformation plans come to life,” Burgess said.

Walker Crips Financial Planning
Walker Crips Financial Planning, part of the Walker Crips Group, has announced that it has expanded into two new regions, with senior hires in the Midlands and South West.

Matthew Crawshaw is joining the firm as regional director for the Midlands, where his focus will be on developing the practice in Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham. With group office presence already in Birmingham, he will aim to grow the team and eventually open an additional office in the East Midlands, the firm said in a statement.

Crawshaw is joining from abrdn, where he was regional director for the North and Midlands, leading a team of financial planners as well as looking after his own portfolio of specialised clients.

Kaz Dev has been appointed as associate director in the South West region, which includes existing group offices in Bristol and Truro, the firm continued. He will work towards growing the practice between these locations, providing advice to new and existing clients. He is joining from Francis Clark Financial Planning, where he served as head of professional services and chartered financial planner.

The new hires have over 40 years of combined financial planning experience, specialising on giving advice to complex family estates and entrepreneurs exiting their businesses, as well as former lottery winners. They will work alongside established lawyers and accountants in their regions and will be looking forward to developing those professional connections further. They previously worked together at Grant Thornton, alongside Nick Lee and Charles Cavendish who also joined Walker Crips Financial Planning back in 2021.