Rothschild Private Banking hires three senior client advisers from GAM, the hedge fund arm of Swiss bank Julius Baer, as it continues an aggressive recruitment drive in the UK, The Wealth Bulletin reports.
Richard Jennings, James Fairbairn and Nicholas Barran will join Rothschild Private Banking & Trust in the autumn. At GAM, the three were responsible for business development as well as managing client relationships.
Jennings and Fairburn will be based in London while Barran will work from Leeds, helping James Fenwick develop Rothschild’s business in northern England.
According to a spokesperson at GAM, of the three only Fairburn managed client accounts directly. All GAM clients have a primary and secondary account manager, which eases the transition when staff leave.
Gary Powell, head of Rothschild’s private bank in the UK, has been recruiting aggressively since taking charge in October. The number of UK client directors at the private bank has doubled in the past year to 12, with recruits including Philip Stevens and Amanda Lyons from UBS, who joined this year as senior private bankers.
Powell says that while the three new arrivals will primarily manage client relationships they will also be involved in business development, given their previous experience. Rothschild Private Banking oversees 10.5 billion in assets from London and Zurich, with 2 billion under management in the UK.
The departures will be a blow to GAM with Fairburn, in particular, seen as an important figure in developing its UK business. Julius Baer acquired GAM and three private banking units from UBS three years ago.
Italian Bank Intesa SanPaolo was reported to be considering a bid for GAM in March, although chief executive Corrado Passera said market conditions meant his acquisition plans were on hold. It has also been reported that Julius Baer may consider floating GAM.