The former leadership team of Lockwood Advisors, a subsidiary of BNY Mellon, have launched an independent advisory firm, and hired David Gibson, former CFO at Wilmington Trust.

Based in Radnor, PA, Palladiem Partners will focus on providing actively managed investment strategies for independent financial advisors, broker dealers and institutions.

At the helm of the firm is Donald Robinson, who launched Lockwood Advisors in the mid-90s, and was latterly chief investment officer of the firm, which was bought by Bank of New York in 2002.

He is joined by a number of his former colleagues. These are David Feldman, former director of investments at Lockwood, who will serve as president and co-CIO of Palladiem; Joseph Scavetti, former director of trading, operations and risk management, who will serve as chief operating officer; and Stephanie Mackara, former director of product development and strategic initiatives, who will serve as chief marketing officer.

Collectively, the executive management team was latterly responsible for actively managing and sub-advising approximately $13 billion in assets.

Palladiem has also brought in Gibson as managing director and chief financial officer. Gibson was previously the CFO and an executive vice president at Wilmington Trust and its affiliates.

Speaking to Family Wealth Report, Robinson says he felt the timing was right to launch an independent firm. Far from being daunted by the difficult regulatory and investment landscape, he says such dislocations mean it is important to be nimble and focus on what you do best.

Mackara agrees, saying changes such as the fiduciary standard mean advisors need partners now more than ever.

The firm’s strategy will focus on two main distribution channels, capitalizing on the team’s past experience and relationships. These are advisors who work with end-clients and institutions, including family offices. Although Robinson is confident the reputation and experience of the team means assets should grow pretty quickly at Palladiem, he says their focus will be on attracting quality assets, as these tend to stick. It will operate under a fee-based, open architecture business model.

Palladiem will offer seven strategies, five of which are core strategies ranging from conservative to aggressive in their risk levels. The remaining two, the income and opportunistic portfolios, are satellite strategies.

“Our total focus is really return on capital,” says Robinson, adding that there is no free lunch – especially with interest rates at rock bottom.

He says to get the best opportunities clients have to be willing to invest globally, and in areas where traditionally they might not have felt so comfortable, but the key is to understand the interactions between various assets.

“People look at obvious things like historical correlation, but markets are changing all the time,” says Robinson.

“You need quantitative tools, they’re very important, but it’s really understanding the data… and trying to understand why things are moving together and why they’re not, and how an investment affects the total risk in the portfolio.”