Psigma opens Birmingham arm and targets Edinburgh

Psigma Investment Management has launched its first Birmingham office with former Charles Stanley head of private clients Toby Carpenter.

The office is Psigma’s second outside London - sitting alongside the Newcastle branch - and is part of a wider regional plan which could also see the investment manager open a branch in Edinburgh.

‘We are thinking of a national presence,’ explained Psigma managing director Darrell Mercer, adding that people in regions want to managed by someone on the ground.

‘We have just opened an office in Birmingham. Punter Southall already have an office there so it was a very easy thing to add. We’ve recruited Toby Carpenter to build the proposition and it’s starting to work,’ he said.

Carpenter will manage private client, charity and pension portfolios and will work to broaden Psigma's reach in to the IFA market.

While Mercer agreed that Edinburgh is already well-broked, he said he thought Psigma's down to earth approach would fit well with the market.

‘I think there are a lot of managers [in Edinburgh] but there’s a lot of money that’s been in Scotland for a long time. It’s more traditional money than new money and our approach would be very suited to those kinds of people,' he said

The Edinburgh office will depend on finding the right people to lead the venture. Both office openings are part of Psigma's five-year plan to grow assets to £3 billion from the current £1.4 billion under management.