Momentum Global Investment Management was gaining traction in the UK adviser space, but it “wasn’t everything they wanted”, according to their new head of UK retail sales, who is tasked with giving the firm an extra push.
Andrew Davies joined the firm last week, moving across from being sales director at Skandia and more recently head of business development at Sanlam UK.
He will assume responsibility for retail sales, marketing and client services, with a focus on execution of the UK consumer fund distribution strategy, based on the Factor Series of funds, which is approaching its crucial three year anniversary.
Momentum recently lost John Alexander as a business development manager for the North of England, so Mr Davies said that one of his first jobs will be to replace him and generally “beef up” the sales team across the country.
“I want to ramp up the sales push through our existing adviser relationships, whilst also partnering with more nationals and networks, plus of course getting the Factor funds onto more platforms.”
“I’ve been brought in to leverage my experience and relationships with the IFA community, and I joined because I really believe the Factor Series is designed with advisers in mind.”
Last summer the firm sealed a deal for the YourWealth.co.uk website as part of its drive into the retail market, following an earlier acquisition of the advice, information and product portal YourWealth.co.uk and its Money Hub app technology.
Mr Davies explained that these add-ons will help clients understand what they’ve got and how Momentum’s longer-term funds can help them with their financial goals. “We’ll be developing these websites and tools more over the coming months, as they should help advisers stay in contact with clients and reconnect with those they may have lost.”
Nick Robert-Nicoud, who was at the time head of strategic marketing at Momentum, told FTAdviser they were looking for similar deals to help build on organic asset growth. “We realise that Momentum is not yet a household brand in the UK, but we’re working on both organic growth and good acquisitions to build the brand and assets under management,” he stated.
In May last year, the South-African multi-asset specialist expanded its UK reach by being appointed by Liontrust to run four portfolios for Pennine Wealth Solutions, an investment proposition run by Lancashire advice firm True Bearing Chartered.
peter.walker@ft.com
