The latest moves, appointments and personnel changes among wealth management and related organisations in the UK, the rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and select international locations.

ECP Asset Management
Specialist Sydney-founded active fund manager ECP Asset Management has appointed Ryan Rajkumar as principal, distribution, based in London.

In this newly-created role – marking ECP’s first hire in the region – Rajkumar will lead local distribution efforts, using his network to partner with institutional and wealth management clients primarily across the UK, Switzerland and EMEA. The firm is setting its sights on attracting clients in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

Rajkumar, who was previously director of the global strategic client group at Ecofin, has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, which includes over a decade at abrdn and a series of senior distribution and business development roles with Fidelity International, BNY Investments, and UBS Asset Management – where he was head of financial institutions and acting head of wholesale for UK and Ireland.

“Ryan brings a strong network of industry contacts within the UK and EMEA region and his vast experience in the local market will play a crucial role as we grow our client base overseas. Aided by top performance, we are experiencing strong demand for our strategies,” Dr Manny Pohl AM, founder and executive chairman at ECP, said.

abrdn Adviser
abrdn Adviser has appointed Derek Smith to the newly-created role of chief technology and product officer in its leadership team led by Noel Butwell, CEO, abrdn Adviser.

The CTPO role will bring together abrdn Adviser’s technology and product teams to drive agile delivery aligned with client feedback, the firm said in a statement.

Smith will be responsible for executing the technology strategy and ensuring the continuous enhancement and scalability of the abrdn Adviser business. He will join in November from Morningstar Wealth where he is chief technology officer – a position he has held for two years. Smith is a global product and technology executive with a record of leading business lines across startup, transformation and growth phases, the firm said. Prior roles include head of engineering at Virgin Money and seven years at Lloyds Banking Group as head of innovation, then head of engineering.

His appointment follows the recent announcements that Verona Kenny is to join abrdn Adviser as chief distribution officer and Louise Williams as chief financial officer.

‘Our ambition is to deliver a market-leading proposition with exceptional client service and we’ve set out to create the best senior leadership team in the market to achieve this,” Butwell said. “Derek brings a wealth of experience to the role of chief technology and product officer. He will lead the implementation of our strategy and next phases of platform upgrades as we embark on our next stage of growth and evolution during a period of disruption and digital transformation in the market.”

Farrer & Co
UK law firm Farrer & Co has recruited Abigail Nott, a specialist in tax, trust and estate planning for UK and international individuals, to its private client team, with the status of senior counsel. 

Previously, Nott worked at McDermott Will & Emery. She begins her new role today (7 October).

Nott advises international individuals, families, and family offices and trustees across a range of international and domestic private client matters, with an emphasis on integrated international tax planning and structuring.