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

Omni Partners    
Omni Partners, a London based alternative investment management firm, has appointed Charles Gallagher-Powell as head of private equity, to help expand its presence in private markets.

At Omni, Gallagher-Powell will be responsible for building out a lower-mid market private equity business, reporting to Omni's founder, Steven Clark, the firm said. Gallagher-Powell, who will be leading the growth of Omni’s private equity business, has already worked alongside Omni on transactions including Fortes Partners and iPlace Global. With over 11 years of experience in the investment industry, he started his career in the leveraged finance team at UBS before joining private equity firm XIO Group.

Over the last few years, Omni has been making select private equity investments as part of its expansion within private markets. With a targeted focus on healthcare, education and training, and technology, the firm aims to capitalise on the opportunities presented by small growth businesses, an area which has been traditionally underserved. 

Welcoming him to the firm, Clark said: “His prior experience of working with our team and strong track record will be invaluable to our future growth and to our clients.”

Omni Partners LLP, which directly manages in excess of £130 million ($163 million) of assets, focuses on investment management within private markets, although it’s genesis is in hedge fund management.   

Lowes Financial Management        
North East financial advisory firm, Lowes Financial Management, has appointed Gershom Chan as head of financial planning to continue its growth strategy.

Chan, originally from Edinburgh, has been appointed to the newly-created role at a time of wider restructure and ongoing expansion of the practice and service proposition, the firm said. He will be involved in improving and expanding the client proposition whilst also taking the lead on the training and development of the next generation of financial planners.

Chan, a chartered financial planner and fellow of the Personal Finance Society, has been part of the wider Lowes team for around four years, working in several technical roles initially and then becoming a Lowes consultant, servicing his own bank of clients. His appointment as head of financial planning comes as the firm seeks to embed itself in the North East.

Lowes advises clients across a wide range of financial aspects such as inheritance tax planning, investment management, pensions, tax mitigation, long-term care and other general financial planning areas, helping clients and their families to secure their financial future. More specifically, Lowes is a recognised national authority in the profession on structured retail products. 

Lowes, which last year celebrated 50 years of servicing clients, recently appointed its first associate director, Andy Gardiner, and opened a new office in Teesside to raise its national and regional profile.