Williams de Broe funds up in year of turmoil

Published on Saturday 7 November 2009 16:37

INVESTMENT management firm Williams de Broe, which opened its first private client office in Edinburgh a year ago, now has £430 million funds under management, despite launching during a time of market turmoil.

The firm, which has a number of established offices across the UK but only one in Scotland, lured a team of directors from Barclays Wealth last year to establish its Edinburgh operation.

Murray Mackay, executive director of Williams de Broe (WdB) in Edinburgh, said the firm was aiming to bring across up to another 50m from Barclays Wealth.

Next year he said the emphasis will turn to generating new business from other sources, including Northern Ireland and rival Edinburgh investment houses.

WdB's Edinburgh office also covers Northern Ireland and the north of England.

Mackay said: "We're clearly winning business in Northern Ireland after a couple of trips there. We've also had quite a few inquiries from the Cumbria and Carlisle area."

Mackay recently appointed an independent financial adviser sales representative to court that sector. He said it represented a "massive opportunity" to generate new business as IFAs are having to change how they work due to the retail distribution review which will phase out commission payments.

WdB opened its permanent Edinburgh office near Haymarket last November and has 17 employees in the city. It is planning to appoint an assistant investment manager.

Mackay said: "This is a reflection of our progress to date."

Edinburgh is proving rich pickings for wealth managers. Last year Rensburg Sheppards opened an office and recently poached a team of managers from Bank of Scotland's private bank.