InvestmentsNov 21 2013

Rowan Dartington suffers blow as team moves to rival

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Rowan Dartington has seen the team which runs its discretionary Signature business move to rival R C Brown Investment Services.

Discretionary manager R C Brown said Andrew Morris, one of the founders of Rowan Dartington together with senior fund manager Joe Dyer, and colleagues Helen Parry and Claire Hudd have now started at the firm.

Signature portfolio manager James Gardner and head of equity research and Rowan Dartington co-founder Mark Sevier will soon join R C Brown too.

Signature is the part of Rowan Dartington’s business dedicated to servicing intermediaries and has worked with advisers for roughly 20 years.

Rowan Dartington and R C Brown are both based in Bristol.

R C Brown said it had set up a separate division to support the new team whose offering will provide “differentiated and independent investment solutions”.

R C Brown said the “rapid growth” of its private client offering in the past few years had also seen it recruit Alan Beaney as investment director from Principal Investment Management (Sanlam Private Investors).

Bob Brown, chairman of R C Brown, said he was pleased to have recruited “such a high calibre team” join the company.

“I have personally known some members of the team for 30 years and I was disappointed that when we approached them three years ago they decided to remain at Rowan Dartington,” he said.

“Their distinctive offering of proven investment performance and outstanding customer service is a valuable combination, which will complement our existing offering. We look forward to enhancing our reputation as a leading independent provider of discretionary investment services to financial advisers and their clients.”

Graham Coxell, executive chairman of Rowan Dartington said: “Rowan Dartington has changed considerably in the past three years; there is now a strong team culture in place across the business, which has resulted in considerable development for the firm and growth in assets under management.

“We restructured the management team of Signature back in September and under the helm of managing director Guy Stephens, Rowan Dartington Signature is now in a very strong position to continue to capitalise on this, and continue with our plans for expansion throughout the business.”