Quilter Cheviot’s Manchester head on the North West opportunity

Establishing a regional office is no easy feat but Rothburn explains that he and his five colleagues were helped by the fact that Quilter’s management was able to engage with the Brewin Dolphin/Bell Lawrie management at the time. Following negotiations, Quilter was able to take over Bell Lawrie’s former office premises and a deal was struck over the division of clients.

Today, the firm has stayed true to its pure investment management roots and can offer clients portfolios comprised of direct securities, funds or a blended approach. Intermediaries can access the firm’s model portfolio service with a minimum investment of £25,000 through to the bespoke offering for those with £200,000-plus in investable assets.

Rothburn is positive about Quilter Cheviot’s defined role as a specialist investment manager with the ability to work alongside external financial advisers who can provide a financial planning overlay.

Portfolios are run on a bespoke basis but investment managers leverage off the firm’s centralised research and asset allocation, which Rothburn views as a positive as managers are engaged in the process while also able to focus on the client relationship.

‘I think we have got the balance right. We have got our list that you have to stick with, but that provides protection if an investment manager from a regional office or a team in London wants to do his or her own thing,’ he said.

‘For example, they buy something and put it in a lot of portfolios and it goes wrong, that is where the reputational risk is and then you have compensation and all of these sorts of things. That is very damaging for a business and you lose the client and IFA relationships. All from making one mistake. You can never recover from that.

‘To me the most important part of the research process is the safety valve you get in avoiding
the horrors,’

With the fledgling recovery in the US gaining momentum and markets up from last summer’s lows, Rothburn is finding clients are feeling more positive in review meetings and giving more money to the firm to manage, particularly as they may be worried about having too much in cash.

‘I am more positive in general because corporates seem to be doing well and worries seem to have receded. Some of the numbers coming out of the US seem to be better, but as we know, things can change quickly,’ he added.

The firm is currently bullish on Asian and emerging market equities, overweight UK, US and European equities, and underweight sovereign debt and corporate bonds. On property and hedge/absolute return funds they currently have a neutral stance.