Wren Investment Office 

Wren Investment Office, the multi-family office in London established in 2016, has made three further senior appointments and four new executives.  

Eirian Jones, one of the founders of Wren has been appointed chief investment officer, Daniel de Fernando stepping aside from that role as planned last year, but remaining a non-Executive Director and a member of the Investment Committee. William Drake has been appointed a Senior Adviser.  

Drake is a former colleague of the founders of Wren having previously, with Wren's Chairman, Adam Wethered, founded and run one of the earliest established UK multi-family offices; Robert Mason joins Wren as Private Equity Consultant having also worked alongside Wethered and Drake extensively in the past advising families on private equity investment. 

The four additional executive appointments at Wren are: Dan Young joins the client team as Client Relationship Associate Director from Stonehage Fleming; Luke Heywood-Jones, becomes part of the investment team as an Investment Analyst, Roger Windmill has been brought into the operations team and Alice Woods has joined the Client Relationship team.

Michael Parsons, CEO of Wren, said: "Eirian Jones has been a great force on our Investment Committee for the last 5 years and we are delighted that he has moved into his new role as CIO. Having worked alongside him for much longer, I and my colleagues know his outstanding abilities well. 

"We are exceptionally grateful for Daniel de Fernando's enormous contribution as CIO hitherto and are grateful that he will remain on our Investment Committee. 

"Added to this, we are fortunate to bring the multi-year wisdom to our clients amassed  by William Drake and Robert Mason who have careers spanning three decades of high-level advice to wealthy families and endowments; we know from working with them previously that they have exceptional and intricate knowledge of the workings and needs of multi-generational family wealth and endowments.  

"They will be invaluable to us with our expanding client base with its wider interests and exposure to different asset classes, including private equity which is becoming of increased relevance to our clients.

Adam Wethered, Chairman of Wren, added: "These are all very important additions to our burgeoning business at Wren which will ensure our clients have the brightest people and the critical mass to look after their varied interests with judgement and integrity. The most successful families and endowments  treat their wealth as an "enterprise", having it managed like a business, with structure, strategy and suitable metrics. 

"Our aim is to help these families and trustees have their affairs as a well-run virtual family office enterprise, guiding clients and implementing as needed. 

"This increasingly includes advice in aligning their investments to their ESG and climate change concerns. Our aim is to help families and trustees to find the best from the  investment world,  enabling them to protect, grow and enjoy their wealth."

Crestbridge 

Crestbridge has appointed Ellie Sharples as director, senior compliance officer, as it continues to expand its Group risk function. 

Based in Jersey, she will be responsible for ensuring the monitoring of operational performance and for the management of all regulatory and compliance matters, ensuring the business's ongoing adherence to both its own internal policies and procedures and to local regulatory obligations. Ellie also manages Crestbridge's regulatory relationship with the local regulator, the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC). 

Prior to joining Crestbridge, Ellie spent four years as a senior manager at the JFSC leading a team of Regulatory Supervisors responsible for assessing Jersey banks compliance with financial services regulations, local and international laws. 

Glen Nelson, Crestbridge's Head of Risk, Jersey said: "Ellie's appointment is the latest in a number of senior appointments to Crestbridge's Group risk function and further demonstrates the business's commitment to ensuring its first-class capabilities in respect to risk, compliance, and AML and our associated obligations. Ellie's expertise in local financial regulations, laws and codes of practice will make her an invaluable addition to our experienced team."

HSBC 

HSBC has appointed Luanne Lim as the chief executive officer of its Hong Kong business, its biggest market, as the Asia-focussed bank looks to expand its investment across the region.

Lim was named the interim chief executive in September and had previously been the chief operating officer of the Hong Kong business since 2017.

"This is an exceptional time to be part of HSBC as we accelerate our investment in Asia," Lim, a veteran of 25 years in the banking industry, said in a statement.

River and Mercantile 

Asset manager River and Mercantile has hired Matt Hudson, who will be joining the firm's PVT equity team as a portfolio manager later this month.

An experienced equity income manager, he joins at an exciting time for the R&M business, with Alex Hoctor-Duncan having recently taken the helm as CEO. 

He will become the lead manager of the ES River and Mercantile UK Equity Income fund, supported by Anna Pugh as alternate manager, who has worked on the fund for the previous four years, as well as the wider analyst team.

With over 20 years' experience of managing UK equities, Matt has a deep specialist knowledge of equity income strategies. After qualifying as a chartered accountant, Matt's investment career saw him manage equity income portfolios at Cazenove Fund Management and subsequently Schroders.

Matt Hudson said: "I am thrilled to be joining the team at R&M as it embarks on its next chapter. The rigour of the investment process and the team culture are highly regarded in the industry, and I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues as we bring a renewed focus to the UK Equity Income fund."

Alex Hoctor-Duncan, CEO of River and Mercantile, said: "Great investment performance ultimately comes from supporting skilled individuals who love what they do and the place they work. As we build and invest in the R&M platform, retaining our culture is key. We are a genuine, team-based investment boutique, with a great environment and talented people.

"This creates a rewarding place to be an investor. Equally, this is important in the delivery for clients. It is an extremely exciting moment for the business, and I am pleased to welcome someone of Matt's calibre to the team."

Anna Pugh, alternate portfolio manager of the ES R&M UK Equity Income fund, added: "I am looking forward to working with someone of Matt's experience, both specifically on the fund and as part of the wider investment team. The team is excited about the future, and it will be great to have Matt on board to be part of this."

PraxisIFM 

PraxisIFM Group, the global financial services business, is pleased to announce the appointment of Alexandra McInnes as the new Group Chief Operating and Risk Officer (CORO) and James Barber-Lomax TEP as the Head of Pensions. 

This is part of the company's strategy to continue to focus on its plan to deliver a simpler, stronger, and more efficient business and bolster its pensions services as PraxisIFM enters its 50th anniversary year.

McInnes was born and raised in Guernsey and returned to the island in 2019, having spent 16 years working in senior roles within the Advisory businesses of two of the Big Four accountancy firms in Bermuda, London, and New York. 

She was most recently a director with PwC's Advisory business in Guernsey, where she led a number of governance, risk, and compliance transformation projects for financial services clients. 

James Barber-Lomax becomes Head of Pensions having been at PraxisIFM for eight years. In his tenure, he has been integral to the growth and business development of the company's pensions services. 

His new role will focus on developing and driving strategies to further enhance PraxisIFM's pensions arm and in particular, its two subsidiaries, Trireme Pension Services (Trireme) and Cavendish Corporate Investments PCC Limited (Cavendish). Cavendish provides a bespoke range of annuity contracts available to non-UK pension scheme holders and contract-based retirement solutions from Guernsey in Guernsey and Malta provides cross-jurisdictional personal and multi-member occupational pension solutions. 

He will lead the teams as the Group integrates its pension services into its Private Wealth and Corporate Services division.

Upon his appointment in 2014, he was seconded to a business development role within the Group's pension subsidiary, Trireme Pensions Services, in the UAE. In 2016 he assisted with the establishment of PraxisIFM Trust Limited in the Abu Dhabi Global Markets, the first regulated trust company in the financial centre. He returned to London in 2018 and was appointed to the PraxisIFM Trustees (UK) Limited and PraxisIFM Corporate Services (UK) Limited boards.

Robert Fearis, chief executive of PraxisIFM, said: "We are delighted to promote James to Head of Pensions. We have made significant investment into the business and James has played an essential role in the growth of our pension subsidiary, Trireme, in the UAE.

"Combined with his experience and unrivalled passion and knowledge of the sector, we are excited to see how PraxisIFM's pensions arm evolves in line with James's vision for growth. PraxisIFM has moved into the next phase of our history, entering our 50th anniversary this year. We look forward to working with James, as we continue to deliver the outstanding service that our clients have come to expect."

Saltus 
Saltus has appointed Alex Spreckley as Managing Director of Financial Planning.

He has more than 20 years' experience in wealth management and financial planning and will use his extensive knowledge and passion for positive customer outcomes to enhance client experience and take Saltus to Chartered status. 

He started his career as a paraplanner at Mitchell & Company and is a Chartered Wealth Manager, Chartered and Certified Financial Planner with qualifications in pension, long term care and equity release planning.

He has also worked as an Independent Financial Planner at Origen Financial Services, spent five years as a senior wealth manager at Alexander Forbes before moving onto wealth planning at Killik & Co. 

In 2012, he joined Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management; by 2017 he had made a successful move into regional leadership and two years ago to executive level leadership; his most recent role was Head of Wealth Management. 

The company said he will play an integral part in its ambitious plans," including our M&A strategy to buy great like-minded firms, and our campaign to become chartered."