The head of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management (DBWM) UK has said big regulatory changes in the UK and the EU played a part in the firm’s expansion into the financial planning market.
Since the appointment of Michael Morley as chief executive of DBWM UK in 2017, the firm has seen a profitable area of growth in the UK.
Morley told International Adviser: “Expansion into financial planning was always part of the Deutsche Bank Wealth Management UK plan, given the structural changes in the UK private client market following the introduction of [the Retail Distribution Review] and Mifid II.”
The Retail Distribution Review (RDR) is a set of rules aimed at introducing more transparency and fairness in the UK investment industry, which came into effect on 31 December 2012.
Mifid II is a legislative framework instituted by the EU to regulate financial markets in the bloc and improve protections for investors, which was rolled out on 3 January 2018.
Morley added: “We are committed to building a model advice-led wealth management business in the UK.”
The German bank recently appointed Nick Reeves, the former private client partner at Tilney in London, as head of UK financial planning as part of its strategic plan to build out the UK business.
Business opportunity
The chief executive of DBWM UK was also asked why the firm sees the UK financial planning market as a good business opportunity and how the firm will differ from its competitors.
Morley added: “The ability to profile clients effectively and to give them advice on both sides of their personal balance sheets is a key skill and this is one which financial planners have.
“Deutsche Bank Wealth Management differentiates itself through deep local heritage, global reach and the ability to connect clients to a world-class capital markets institution.
“Clients will gain access to highly qualified and experienced expertise in an area which all surveys show they profoundly value.”
Reeves
The firm’s recently appointed head of UK financial planning will join the firm in January 2019 and be based in London. He will sit on the wealth management UK executive council, reporting to Morley.
Prior to his five-year stint at Tilney, he was previously an ultra- and high net worth wealth adviser at Barclays from 2010 to 2013, and also worked at accountancy network Grant Thornton.
“Nick’s proven experience, both as a financial planner and a leader of a team of planners, makes him ideal to head our UK financial planning business,” Morley said.
International Adviser recently interviewed the director of Perceptive Planning, Phil Billingham, who said the influx of wealth management firms hiring financial advisers in regional areas of the UK is a part of a “targeted recovery”.
