Jeremy Hervey, deputy head of private wealth management at Cazenove, has been busy helping colleagues from C Hoare & Co settle in since Cazenove acquired the wealth management arm of the bank in early 2017.
‘It has progressed well,’ he says. ‘It is rewarding to see all of our teams working well together in helping our clients meet and hopefully exceed their objectives.’
Starting out in 1993, Hervey was attracted by the relationship aspect of the work, as well as an interest in markets and their drivers. ‘Of course all clients have their own objectives and attitudes to risk, but most are looking to maintain the long-term spending power of their portfolios,’ he says.
Clients are mostly UK-based private clients and charities, and all are managed on a discretionary basis, with each allocated a financial planning specialist. Though for the most part they are simply after a bespoke personal service and performance to meet their objectives, Hervey does note a rise in demand for ‘increased transparency, improved online capability and greater ESG focus’.
Opportunities lie in a number of equity markets as well as in some alternative investments, he observes. ‘The main concerns remain geopolitical,’ says Hervey, ‘although it would appear that in 2018 markets have become a little more sanguine – but I wonder for how long? Many clients continue to be concerned about the implications of Brexit.’