The report also found that the neglecting advice and wealth market has led to some differences in personal finance confidence, as 39% of women in the UK report that they know how to save for retirement, compared to 57% of men.

In a separate research paper from Hargreaves Lansdown, it further highlighted the problem that female clients are falling behind in the wealth industry, with just 19% of women aged 35-64-year-old age group investing in the markets.

Emma Wall, head of investment analysis and research at Hargreaves Lansdown warned that this risks “creating a permanent gap in women’s financial health and wealth”.

Lack of trust

One of the reasons for women not investing is the lack of trust they have in the fact they are receiving good advice.

Forrester data showed only 31% of women are confident they are receiving good financial advice, while the majority rely on their own research and trusted sources such as family and friends.

In order to attract more women customers, wealth and advice firms need to have a better understanding of what women want and need when it comes to investing their money.

Debbie Dry, head of business development at JustFa, said: “According to sources, women are an underserved and untapped segment in the wealth management industry, they have different investment goals, risk appetites, communication styles and financial literacy levels than men.

“Women also face different challenges and opportunities in their financial journeys such as the gender pay gap, career breaks and inheritance.”

Yasmina Siadatan, sales and marketing director at Dynamic Planner highlighted that while financial planning firms are beginning to evolve and reflect the needs and wants of women the pace can be too slow.

To build trust with female clients, wealth and advice firms need to take time to fully understand the circumstances and needs of women and how they may differ to men.

Siadatan said: “As with any client, the task is to meet women investors where they are, really understand their circumstances and needs and when recommending products, communicate effectively about how those products can help.”

Inclusivity

While it is important for firms to keep in mind the challenges and opportunities that women are faced with when it comes to offering them financial advice, Siadatan believes that instead of trying to divide the advice given to men and women, a more diverse and inclusive environment needs to be created that both men and women can benefit from.

She added: “Rather than creating silos that risk reinforcing gender divides, a more fruitful path is to focus on building diverse and inclusive teams and a workplace culture that fosters idea sharing. By harnessing a broader range of perspectives, firms can ensure they’re well placed to serve the broadest range of clients.”

Similarly, Dry believes that financial products are and should be gender neutral.

JustFa’s Dry said: “Although it might be useful to have specific marketing aimed at female investors to include them in something that has historically and predominantly been a male domain,  financial products should target specific goals and outcomes regardless of a gender.”

Accessibility

Forrester also reported that branch locations and face-to-face interactions hold less value for women who prefer using digital channels when investing their money.

This is because it offers convenience, unbiased information and the ability to engage on their own terms.

Therefore, wealth and advice firms should use online platforms to interact with women clients and provide them with the information they need to make the right investment decisions for them.

Siadatan said: “Firms can make use of technology to enable effective client segmentation, supporting marketing and communications that demonstrate understanding and speak more directly to client needs.”

The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. It takes Titan Wealth’s AuM to £9.4bn ($11.7bn, €10.8bn).

Guernsey-based Ravenscroft is a wealth management business. Its two offices in the UK have combined assets under management of £600m and provide discretionary, advisory and execution-only services to nearly 2,300 clients.

The majority of clients are based in Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire and they will benefit from access to Titan Wealth’s wider group products and services. The teams from both offices will move across to Titan Wealth.

Andrew Fearon, joint chief executive and head of M&A at Titan, said: “Ravenscroft is a well-run business possessing a high-quality, loyal client base. The business will integrate with our network, enabling greater distribution of the investment and advisory offering that form part of our client to custody solutions and services.”

The acquisition comes several months after International Adviser reported that Titan Wealth had secured a major investment from US-based private equity firm Parthenon Capital.

Offshore focus

Jon Ravenscroft, group chief executive of Ravenscroft, said: “Titan has acquired a number of asset management firms in accordance with its growth strategy and we have spent a considerable amount of time ensuring they were the correct fit. Titan has the same ‘client first’ ethos and I’m confident that this development is the right move for both our UK teams and their clients.

“It will also allow Ravenscroft to focus on the offshore market – which we know extremely well – where the large majority of our clients, shareholders and staff remain.”

Ravenscroft has been busy launching funds over the past year – recently it announced it will be expanding its fund range with the addition of the Ravenscroft Higher Income Fund. The fund will be available in Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

A year earlier, Ravenscroft launched its first fund in eight years when it unveiled the offshore global solutions fund.

The office, its 17th in Europe, offers a range of solutions to Swiss clients across public and private markets including products across the global real estate and alternatives sectors.

At the same time, the global investment manager has hired Christian Leger as managing director and head of Switzerland.

Leger will lead Nuveen’s expansion across Switzerland, in alignment with its objectives to both grow its existing institutional client base and offering for private wealth clients. Leger joins from Allianz Global Investors, where he was country head for Switzerland and head of European banks.

He is joined by Michele Perone, who was also previously at Allianz Global Investors and will be vice president in the Zurich office.

Unlock wealth market

Romina Smith, head of central Europe for global client group at Nuveen, said: “The opening of our office in Switzerland is a significant step for Nuveen’s European expansion plans, as we focus on bolstering our services to the private wealth and institutional investment industries.

“A local presence is essential to our success here as Switzerland is home to some of the world’s largest private banks and global financial institutions and we see the Zürich office as key to further unlocking the wealth market in Europe.

“We are also extremely lucky to be able to welcome Christian to lead these efforts. Christian brings a wealth of experience, having covered Swiss clients throughout the entirety of his career.

“We believe that with our diverse investment offering and extensive experience investing across both public and private market solutions, Nuveen is uniquely suited to address Swiss clients’ current and future needs. Christian’s knowledge of the local market and industry expertise will be invaluable as we look to build and strengthen our client base.”

Nuveen has $1.3trn (£1.08trn, €1.28trn) in assets under management as of 31 December 2021 and operations in 27 countries.

A job advertisement on its website states that the bank wants to “redefine the way that people interact with investing and wealth”.

“We are looking for a leader to build and run the most exciting new business at Monzo – investments and wealth.”

The bank is seeking “someone to take on a general manager role, working across product, engineering, data, marketing, risk, compliance and operations to build out this product and take it to market”.

No details were provided about when the division is expected to launch. A spokesperson for Monzo declined to comment further when contacted by International Adviser.

The role will be part of the leadership team.

Suitable candidates are described as having “a proven track record of credibility with UK regulators” and “deep knowledge of Mifid 2 regulations”.

The person will be based in the UK, but the job is open to overseas candidates who are willing to relocate, as Monzo states it can sponsor visas.

It was founded by Lewis Hamm and Carl Stelfox, two risk and wealth management specialists with over 35 years of combined experience at JP Morgan.

O-IM is a multi-asset, multi-strategy investment manager that allocates to a broad range of products and “believes in direct equity exposure alongside passive and active funds”.

The firm has a registered office in London and a main office in Bournemouth. It obtained Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approval in August 2021.

Offering

O-IM said it wants to serve high net worth and mass affluent clients who would benefit from “personalised advice but also crave ease of use, simplicity and unpretentious ‘anytime, anywhere’ service”.

Clients are served anywhere in the UK in person and can log into their online portal anywhere in the world. Investors need investable assets of £250,000 ($344,798, €290,391) or more to access the firm’s services.

O-IM said: “Many investors in the UK have been left wanting by private banks that are costly and have high minimum investment thresholds, traditional wealth managers who shoehorn their diverse clients into a limited set of generic products, and robo-advisers that provide access to only a narrow range of pooled, mostly passive, investment products with only a generic email as a contact.”

Management

Hamm will take on the role of chief executive and chief investment officer.

He has over 15 years’ experience in financial services, mostly at JP Morgan, where he was an executive director in its private bank.

Stelfox will be chief risk and compliance officer.

He has over 20 years professional experience having held leadership roles in risk management and compliance at JP Morgan.

Underserved

Hamm said: “Trapped between private banks that are inaccessible to all but the wealthiest and mass market providers that offer only a narrow range of pooled, often passive and often expensive, investment products, a significant number of UK investors have for too long been underserved.

“We’re here to change that. We’ve jettisoned the stuffiness and mountains of paperwork but we’ve kept the important elements of a high-end investment manager: robust risk management, experienced human investment advisers, and – most importantly – an unrelenting focus on treating each client as an individual with very specific goals.”

Stelfox added: “We designed O-IM from the ground up to be efficient, agile and environmentally conscious.

“Our clients enjoy all the simplicity and convenience the latest technology can provide: they’re onboarded digitally; documents are signed electronically; and portfolio updates, insights and reports are published online.”