Jonathan Fry has left Jonathanfry Plc, the London-based firm he founded, because the two had “naturally gone their separate ways”.
Mr Fry, who founded the firm in 1984, said he left the firm following its recent merger with Easby Gale and Phillipson to work at his other company, London-based Fry Family Office, as he had to decide whether to help clients or run a business.
Mr Fry said: “As the firm became larger I realised I had to make a decision about whether I wanted to spend more time running a business or more time with the client.
“For me now my journey is about quality, not quantity and it is perfectly reasonable for someone to make that decision.
“This is a tension within the whole industry. If you have got 100, 200 or 500 advisers they will have to operate a more rigid culture.”
He said he will stay on its investment committee.
The new firm will now be known as Gale and Phillipson, and Phil Morris, previously managing director of Easby Gale and Phillipson, will become the company’s new chief executive.
David Carr, the chief executive of Jonathanfry, will become the new firm’s executive chairman and he confirmed there would be no job losses and no office closures as a result of the merger.
The new firm now manages or advises on more than £700m in client assets.
Background
Plans for the merger were announced in November.
The merged company has offices in London, Newcastle, Northallerton and Richmond, both in North Yorkshire.
Last month Jonathanfry acquired the business of Norwest Consultants, previously run by Financial Adviser contributor Harry Katz.
