Six Ashcourt managers head for Walker Crips in £425k deal

Six investment managers will move from Ashcourt Rowan's Savoy Investment to stockbroker Walker Crips.

UK wealth manager Ashcourt, which is headed up by Jonathan Polin (pictured), announced this morning that its directors had reached an agreement with Walker Crips, with the six expected to join their new firm later this month.

In return for the managers, Polin's Ashcourt will receive £425,000.  Walker Crips has also agreed to cover third party costs associated with this transaction, up to a maximum of £120,000.

'As we continue to re-model the Ashcourt Rowan business we have come to an agreement with Walker Crips over the process by which a number of Savoy's investment managers join them,' said group chief executive Polin, explaining that today's announcement marks a further step in the wealth manager's transformation.  He was known to have been seeking such a deal to help move the disparate business toward a scaleable model with its unnecessary costs weeded out.

He continued: 'The Walker Crips stockbroking model is better suited to the way these managers manage portfolios and their relationship with clients, which is different to our new integrated wealth management business, investment process and operating model.  The loss of AuM (assets under management), revenues and contribution resulting from this transaction is in line with management's expectations at the time of the share placing undertaken in the fourth quarter of 2011.'