Alliance Trust goes on hire spree for platform push

Alliance Trust Savings has kick started a platform push to advisers with a series of hires from rivals providers.

Alliance has increased its intermediary sales team from one at the start of 2012 to eight recruiting Paul Judd, Steve Brooks and Scott Winters as business development managers.

Judd and Brooks were both previously business consultants at Skandia and Winters held the same position at wrap Ascentric.

Alliance has also appointed Julie Maguire as head of marketing communications. She previously worked at Standard Life.

Garry Mcluckie, Alliance Trust Savings sales and marketing director, said the hires bucked the trend in the platform industry to cut back on staff numbers and reduce costs.

‘The platform market in general has recently witnessed some major cutbacks to the size of sales teams. Alliance Trust Savings is bucking this trend by making a series of new appointments to strengthen our intermediary sales team,’ he said. ‘We have brought in three highly experienced business development managers who will help take the proposition to a wider audience.’