Atherton leaves Rathbones’ Birmingham office

Mark Atherton, one of the leading lights in Rathbones’ Birmingham office, has left the firm. He joined the group in May 2008 from Quilter, along with his colleague Daniel Faulkner.

Citywire understands he left the firm in June although Rathbones was unavailable to confirm the story.

The intention had been for the duo to spearhead Rathbones’ drive to establish a base in Britain’s second city, under the guidance of executive director Andrew Morris.

Atherton and Faulkner, who is still at the firm, have faced an uphill task raising assets in Birmingham, where a number of leading wealth management companies have also sought to grow their presence.

The firm has, however, recently looked to demonstrate its commitment to the market, recruiting former Deutsche Tilney portfolio manager James Walker to the team in May.

Atherton had formed a key part of Rathbones’ strategy to move into the city. Morris had said on his hiring: ‘We didn’t want to embark on an expansion until we had the right people. We took guidance from Mark and Daniel, who know the area well.’