Jersey future leaders

Date: 28 Apr 2014

Citywealth

The future leaders of Jersey’s private wealth industry are equipped with new skills and on course for

success. By Claire Coe Smith

Welcome to this inaugural Citywealth feature on the future leaders of Jersey’s private wealth industry, in which we have set out to identify the stars from across Jersey’s investment management, law, trusts and private banking sectors.

There are more than 40 names here, and they share many attributes in common. In putting this list together we have been forced to consider just what attributes the future leaders of the island’s private wealth sector will require, and in turn how they will develop those skills. There is little doubt that the leaders of tomorrow will look markedly different from their mentors of today, and that their paths to the top of the professions they have chosen will vary considerably from those of their predecessors.

First of all, it is obvious that

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Jersey’s future leaders will need to be far more global in their scope than the leaders of yesterday and even today. The industry will be an increasingly international one. Geoff Cook, the chief executive of Jersey Finance, says, “Jersey’s success has always been closely tied to our strong link with the UK, and specifically the City of London, so the leaders of the past typically had a very UK-centric profile, covering everything from their formal education and professional training through to their network of contacts and cultural approach to business.‚Äù

But while that Anglophile orientation has served the island well, and the blend of Jersey home-grown talent and immigrant UK professionals has become embedded, it looks set to change. Cook says, “Jersey now actively markets to some of the largest and fastest-growing economies in the world, including China, India, Russia, Africa and the Gulf region. And while much business will still be done via, and in partnership with, expert intermediaries in London, this internationalisation means that the leaders of tomorrow will need to be genuine global citizens with a strong awareness and understanding of different cultures, real experience of working, and preferably living, in these markets, massively improved language skills, and the ability to help their firms form alliances and partnerships across borders.‚Äù

It is a view shared by many on the island. Tim Cartwright, director at trust company Hawksford, says: “The industry has changed markedly in the last ten years, from being fairly country-centric to being far more international, and the players that are coming through from places like Eastern Europe, Malaysia and the Middle East are looking to be far more international in their approaches to both business opportunities and structuring opportunities.‚Äù

He adds, “Gone are the days when you could expect to come and sit here in Jersey and become a leader. Today you need to experience life on the ground in an area of the world that’s either seen as producing the wealth, or producing the ability to invest in the wealth, of the future.‚Äù

Emerging skill sets

The new entrants to the wealth management industry today in Jersey are expected to have experience in the emerging markets, and to bring language skills that were never previously a prerequisite. But it is not just an international perspective that is needed, rather a cross-border one.

Naomi Rive, a partner and head of the Jersey private client and trusts team at the law firm Appleby, says: “What I’m seeing a lot more of is internationally-based clients with second and third generation family members spread all over the world. Going forward that means we will have to be much more aware of key tax, probate and conflicts of law issues in a whole range of jurisdictions. That doesn’t of course mean advising on all of these matters but at least being alert to the issues and ensuring that appropriate multi-jurisdictional advice is sought.‚Äù

It is just one of the many ways in which the client market is become noticeably more sophisticated, and in turn putting increased pressure on its advisers. In today’s world of internet search engines and targeted media, high net worth individuals are a lot better informed about the opportunities open to them, and a lot more aware of potential investments.

Philip Bain, deputy managing director at Rathbone Investment Management in Jersey, says: “Clients generally are a lot more sophisticated because the average wealth we are seeing is going up. That means clients are a lot more demanding and they often come with teams of professional advisers, whether through a family office structure, a support team of trustees, or with performance and risk consultants.‚Äù

He adds, “There are a lot of people advising around a client, and that means that as investment managers we need to be a lot more on our game, a lot better informed, and more professional about what we do.‚Äù

Beyond standard service

Clients have come to expect a higher staff quality level and professional qualification standards are likely to tighten. Already the Jersey Financial Services Commission has raised professional standards by introducing certain aspects from the Retail Distribution Review, brought in in England and Wales by the Financial Services Authority, under Jersey’s Review of Financial Advice laws. These bring in new requirements to hold a minimum level 4 qualification by January next year, and essentially push for professionals to attain a much higher level of investment expertise as standard.

Bain says, “Clients want us to work with them and not for them, so they want open and constructive two-way dialogues. That is actually a good development for us all, because more sophisticated clients can be the catalyst for some interesting investment ideas and concepts, brought from a different angle, and perhaps even from grass roots or anecdotal sources.‚Äù

Flexible and responsive

There is a clear theme that emerges around the next generation needing to work better, smarter and more efficiently, in the face of ever-more demanding clients. Advisers will likely need to be available 24/7, for example, which will require new ideas around resourcing such that cross-border teams can be made accessible to clients across time zones.

Flexibility will also be key. Investment managers will need to be able to adapt and have a wider skill set than just equities and bonds for example, or they will struggle to compete. Likewise lawyers will need to think outside of their usual straitjacket on fee structures: “We are going to have to continue to adapt the nature of our business, and one area where we are likely to see change is in relation to fees,‚Äù says Rive. “Historically it was all about the hourly rate, but increasingly we are seeing a lot more fixed-fee arrangements.‚Äù Certainly one of the greatest areas of change, which all advisers will need to keep abreast of, will be in the regulatory environment. Maintaining a good relationship with regulators such that they can continuously adapt business targets and processes to take account of change will be a key feature of future leaders. Cartwright says: “Understanding the regulatory backdrop is a moving feast. Being on top of how the regulatory animal is moving and changing, while not letting it become overwhelming, which it can be, will be a key need.‚Äù

Bain points out that investment managers will need a more holistic approach, as investments have shown a tendency for correlation. Clients will need to be transparent about their assets so that managers can ensure strategies are appropriate to their overall wealth portfolios, and reporting processes will also need to be improved, with state-of-the-art performance and attribution tools becoming key differentiators.

Shape of things to come

All of these challenges will make it difficult for future leaders not only to excel within their own organisations, but also to take their businesses forward in an increasingly competitive environment. Cook at Jersey Finance sees the Jersey industry shifting fundamentally towards firms with scale and global reach, and those with niche expertise.

He says: “In the past there has been a fairly even distribution of firms, ranging from large branches of blue-chip global brands right through to medium-sized firms and then small or very small businesses. Now we are seeing a trend for consolidation as the small and medium-sized firms in the private wealth sector find themselves less competitive once the additional cost and time requirements of modern regulation and appropriate due diligence for growth markets are factored into their business models.‚Äù

This in turn drives mergers and acquisitions to achieve scale, or a change in strategy to create very sophisticated niche businesses, such as family, and multi-family, offices, Cook says: “The leaders of tomorrow will need to be alive to these trends and to possess the necessary strategic planning skills to spot the appropriate opportunities for their firms and guide them in the right direction.‚Äù

For most businesses operating in Jersey there is a shift in work, away from work coming out of the UK, largely as a result of tax changes, and at the same time an increase in mandates generated overseas. There are some 60-plus centres around the world competing with Jersey today, and so the island plans to compete by leading a flight to quality, focusing its efforts on delivering effective, efficient, safe and reliable financial services.

There is a lot riding on these leaders of tomorrow.

Name Role organisation

1. Ruari Allan Client Relationship Manager Minerva Trust Group

2. Lucy Baird Senior ManagerJTC Group

3. Alexandra Baker Associate Hanson Renouf

4. Heather Barker Associate Ogier Private Wealth

5. Jessica BerminghamAssociate Bedell Cristin

6. Henry Brandts-Giesen Senior Associate Mourant Ozannes

7. Nancy Chien Senior Associate Bedell Cristin

8. Victoria Connelly Senior Associate Carey Olsen

9. Mark Creedon Trust Manager First Names Group

10. Siobhan Crick Associate Director Sanne Group

11. David Dorgan Senior Associate Collas Crill

12. Leigh Driscoll Private Wealth Manager Kleinwort Benson

13. Damian Evans Senior Associate Mourant Ozannes

14. Danielle Flageul Associate Ogier Private Wealth

15. Mark Fleming Private Client Associate Director RBC Wealth Management

16. Jeffrey Giovannoni Associate Voisin

17. Michael Giraud Head of New Business Investec Trust

18. Kay Gouyette Senior Company and Trust Administrator Hawksford

19. Tom Hardman Investment Analyst ARC

20. Arnou Helmholt-Kneisel Senior Private Banker ABN AMRO BANK N.V.

21. Sarah Hope Assistant, Wills & Probate Voisin

22. Josephine Howe Senior Associate Ogier

23. Alex JeffriesPrivate Banker Nedbank Private Wealth

24. Julie Kleis Private Client Associate DirectorRBC Wealth Management

25. Susan Le Gresley Associate Director Bedell Trust

26. Aidan McAvinue Family Office Banking Barclays

27. Laura Nevitt Manager Ogier Private Wealth

28. Aine O’Reilly Client Director Bacatta Trust

29. Kellyann Ozouf Senior Associate Bedell Cristin

30. Prapa Pearce Private Client Director RBC Wealth Management

31. Richard Pemberton Senior Investment Manager Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management

32. Lucia Perchard Vice President Barclays

33. Michael Shenkin Associate Hatstone Lawyers

34. Craig Swart Senior Associate Mourant Ozannes

35. Samantha Symons Associate Director Bedell Trust

36. Phil Taylor CRM Minerva Trust Group

37. Paul Tomlinson Private Client Associate DirectorRBC Wealth Management

38. Sue Young Senior ManagerVolaw

39. Richard Wakeham Trust & Fiduciary Barclays

40. Henry Wickham Associate Bedell Cristin

41. Katrina Williams Associate Director Rawlinson & Hunter

42. Paul Woodman Director Deloitte

About the listing

The Jersey Future Leaders list has been created from a mix of submissions and feedback and recommendations from the global financial services industry. The list celebrates up and coming leaders in Jersey. It recognises the high profile and excellence these individuals have already achieved in helping to promote business excellence in their home jurisdiction and consolidating the reputations of the financial services industry globally.