In a tribute, Andrew Fahy, chief executive of Quilter Cheviot Europe gave the following statement:

“It is with profound sadness that we share with you the loss of our colleague and friend, Donnacha Fox, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in hospital on Wednesday 8th of January. Donnacha was a hugely respected figure within Quilter Cheviot and in the Irish business community as a whole, and his loss will be deeply felt by many.

“Donnacha was an integral part of Quilter Cheviot Europe, serving as Chief Investment Officer and Deputy Head of our Dublin office. Beyond his professional achievements, Donnacha was a kind, passionate, and decent man. His charismatic personality allowed him to form many friendships across our business.

“Joining us in 2003 as a founding partner of our Dublin office, Donnacha played a critical role in our success in Ireland over the past two decades. He cared deeply about the business, his colleagues, and our clients.

“His contributions and dedication have left an indelible mark on our company, and we will miss him immensely. Our thoughts are with Donnacha’s loved ones.”

Effective immediately, Mike Hankin (pictured right) and Logie Fitzwilliams (pictured left) will share chief executive responsibilities.

Hankin has served as the sole CEO and president since the firm became private and independent in 1998. Logie Fitzwilliams started with Brown Advisory in 2003, and has most recently served as the head of international business and global head of sales.

Together, the firm’s independent board of directors and Hankin decided that a Co-CEO structure would be the best design to provide the leadership needed to meet the growing needs of the firm’s clients, colleagues and shareholders.

As a team, Hankin and Fitzwilliams, who have worked closely together for the last 15 years, will deepen the firm’s partnership and collaborative culture to drive results for all stakeholders. This evolution represents the most significant change in Brown Advisory’s leadership since the firm adopted its current private, independent structure in 1998.

As Co-CEOs – and Co-Presidents – they both will serve on, and report to, the board that governs the firm.

Hankin said: “I could not be more excited about this natural next step in the leadership of the firm. In the building of a global investment team and business to complement what we have been cultivating in the US, Logie has led with the qualities that we think make him the ideal person to share responsibility for leadership of the entire firm.

“He understands that to be truly client first, we need to be obsessively focused on listening to our clients in the U.S. and around the world. He understands that to build successful teams, we need to also listen to our colleagues. We need to make sure that our colleagues have the resources and training necessary to live up to our clients’ expectations.”

He added, “Importantly, Logie and I share the existential commitment to Brown Advisory remaining a private and independent firm. Our ownership structure – where every single colleague owns equity in the firm alongside an important set of outside shareholders who provide critical advice and support – will remain the same; it is the structural backbone to being the client-first firm we aspire to be over generations.”

Fitzwilliams said: “It is a tremendous honor to join Mike in the leadership of Brown Advisory. Throughout my 22 years at the firm, I have been privileged to work with him closely and we have built a deep relationship that will serve as the foundation for our partnership as Co-CEOs. Most importantly, from the outset we have had a shared focus on investing for, advising, and serving our clients at the highest
possible level, and a common commitment to the future of Brown Advisory as a private, independent, entrepreneurial and nimble business.”

Bob Flanagan, lead director of the Brown Advisory Board, said: “The process and thinking behind this decision was extensive, productive and always forward looking. We considered many options and scenarios to ensure that Brown Advisory had the best leadership in place for the present and future. Each of us believe that the firm, its clients and its colleagues will be best served with Mike and Logie acting as CEOs,
together.”

Bea Hollond, director and chair of the firm’s International Advisory Board added: “Being based in the U.K., I have had the direct opportunity to work with and advise Logie on the firm’s international business strategy. I have seen first-hand the incredible impact he has made for Brown Advisory and its clients. I know the Directors all share my excitement in welcoming Logie to the Board, and to seeing Mike and Logie work together as a team.”

Under Hankin’s leadership, the firm has grown from overseeing client assets of $2bn in 1998 to now almost $170bn– representing an annualized growth rate of 17%. Today, the firm’s clients are served by nearly 1,000 colleagues located in 14 offices across the United States, a significant office in London and strategic bases in Frankfurt, Singapore, and Tokyo.

The firm’s clients—a collection of individuals, families, nonprofits, charities, institutions and financial intermediaries—are located in 51 countries and in every U.S. state. Brown Advisory also manages fund platforms – private funds, mutual funds and now ETFs – in the U.S., as well as platforms outside of the U.S. in Ireland, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

Quintin Ings-Chambers will take over as head of the international business. He joined Brown Advisory in 2012 as Head of the firm’s International Private Client and Charity business. He has over 25 years of investment industry experience. Prior to joining Brown Advisory, he served as an Investment Director at SG Hambros and as a Director in the private client and charity group of Baring Asset Management.

He will report into Logie Fitzwilliams.

The UK regulator said this followed Barclays’ decision to withdraw its referral of the FCA’s planned action to the Upper Tribunal.

Karl Foster, Fintech and Financial Services Partner at law firm Spencer West LLP commented: “Both parties appear to have drawn a line under the matter with the withdrawal of the appeal and acceptance of a fine on Barclays side and a reduction of the fine on the FCA’s.

“The FCA expects firms that it regulates to deal with it in an “open and cooperative” manner with an express obligation on firms to disclose anything that a regulator would reasonably expect notice.

“In addition, the FCA has a primary objective to ensure market integrity and whilst the circumstances were unprecedented during the financial crisis, nevertheless the requirement for integrity remains.

Foster further said: “This matter reminds us of the lack of accountability and sense of invulnerability of banks at that time that led to the financial crisis, LIBOR and other scandals.

“Whilst there may be sound legal reasons for Barclays not accepting the FCA’s position in its statement in this matter – as any good litigation lawyer will remind us – nevertheless the lack of humility in withdrawing the appeal takes us back to those times.”

Read the story about the fine here, published earlier today on sister brand Investment International.

The OCF for both funds is reduced by 15 basis points, from 0.65% to 0.50%, effective from 1 November.

AJ Bell Investments’ multi-asset income range has delivered strong performance since launch in March 2019, with a five-year total return of 22.51% and 27.58% for the VT AJ Bell Income Fund and VT AJ Bell Income & Growth Fund respectively, as at 31 October 2024.

The funds will also now offer a smoothed income profile, with 11 equal monthly income payments and a final balance distribution in month 12.

Since launch, the multi-asset income range has formed an important part of the success of AJ Bell Investments, alongside its Managed Portfolio Service (MPS), Growth and Responsible investing funds. The Investments business has grown to assets under management (AUM) of £6.8 billion as at 30 September 2024, up 45% in the year and with inflows of £1.5 billion.

Today’s announcement follows charge reductions on its Investcentre adviser platform earlier this year, with fees cut to between 0.2% and 0.075% and capped on accounts over £2m.

Ryan Hughes, AJ Bell Investments managing director, said: “After another strong year for our Investments business, we are very happy to announce a reduction in charges for our range of income funds. We remain committed to passing on economies of scale to our customers as we continue to grow, ensuring we are delivering excellent value investment solutions alongside strong investment returns.

“At the same time, the move to a ‘smoothed income’ approach helps customers using our income funds manage their investment income. As more investors look to rely on investment income in retirement, this approach will make life easier, with a consistent, reliable income enabling better budgeting and cashflow planning.”

In a statement today (29 October), the MAS said it had also issued a reprimand to AAIM’s chief executive officer, Mr Mintarja Oei, for failing to ensure AAIM’s compliance with MAS’ AML/CFT requirements.

MAS’ inspection of AAIM found that the company’s internal policy and procedures at the material time were inadequate. This led to multiple breaches of MAS’ AML/CFT requirements from June 2015 to October 2020, putting the firm at risk of being misused for financial crime. The breaches included AAIM’s failure to:

(a) Implement adequate processes to detect and report suspicious and unusually large customer transactions with third parties. As a result, AAIM processed several such transactions without taking adequate steps to verify the purported relationships between its customers and the third parties;

(b) Implement appropriate internal procedures to determine if business relations with customers presented a higher risk of ML/TF. Consequently, AAIM did not properly assess the ML/TF risks posed by its customers or take the appropriate risk mitigation measures to address tax-related ML risk;

(c) Implement appropriate internal risk management systems and procedures to determine if customers and related persons were politically exposed persons (PEPs) or close associates of PEPs. As a result, AAIM did not identify several customers to be PEPs and failed to perform enhanced customer due diligence measures; and

(d) Implement adequate internal procedures to keep records of documents and information that AAIM was required to obtain from customers to meet AML/CFT requirements. As a result, AAIM did not record the identities of several customers’ beneficial owners (BOs) and failed to keep up-to-date documents to verify BOs’ identities

MAS found that AAIM’s key breaches are attributable to Mr Oei, as CEO of AAIM, failing to ensure that AAIM’s compliance with MAS’ AML/CFT requirements. MAS has therefore issued a reprimand to Mr Oei.

MAS further noted that AAIM has since taken remedial actions to address the deficiencies that have been identified.