Sesame Bankhall Group has appointed Craig Ross in the newly created role of propositions director to lead the expansion of its adviser services.
Ross joins SBG on June 7 from Charles Stanley & Co where he is currently director of financial planning proposition. Prior to that, he was head of proposition delivery at 1825 Financial Planning.
Previously, he also held roles at Baker Tilly Financial Management, and was an IFA at Rowanbank Financial Consultants.
Reporting into chief executive officer Michele Golunska, Ross will lead the expansion of wealth, protection, later life, and mortgage services to directly authorised firms and its mortgage network advisers.
He said: “I am delighted to be joining SBG at an exciting and interesting time for the financial services industry.
“The impact of the past 18 months has yet to be fully understood and we are in the midst of a period of unprecedented regulatory focus and change.”
He added: “The group is well known for the valuable services it consistently provides its members and clients, but I’ve been particularly impressed with its innovative agenda and desire to develop and broaden these further.
“I look forward to leading the propositions team in doing so and continuing to support our members and clients’ delivery of exceptional customer experience and outcomes.”
This latest appointment comes after SBG made changes to its executive management team earlier this year, in a bid to “realise its future ambitions”.
SBG said its focus in the wealth market was on expanding Bankhall’s offering, creating a broader range of solutions and tools for financial planning firms.
Bankhall is currently established in the investment and pension market as a provider of compliance services.
The firm said it is also committed to strengthening its mortgage, protection, general insurance, and later life services for the directly authorised firms it serves through PMS Mortgage Club and Bankhall, along with appointed representatives of Sesame Network.
To assist with this, SBG recently appointed Emma Thomson as head of protection & general insurance propositions, along with Alex Beavis, who will join the group in June as mortgage and later life lending propositions director.
Both Thomson and Beavis will report into Ross.
Golunska said: “Craig is a senior figure with an excellent track record in the design and build of new products and business services for advisory firms.
“Craig’s in-depth financial planning knowledge will be hugely beneficial in his new role leading our propositions team, who will help to deliver an exciting new range of market-leading investment, protection, and mortgage services.”
She added: “The arrival of Craig and his new team further demonstrates our group’s commitment to expanding our range of services through Bankhall, Sesame, and PMS Mortgage Club, helping to drive profitable growth for advisers whilst offering good customer outcomes.”
sonia.rach@ft.com
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