Woolard was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to financial regulation and financial technology innovation.

He was made interim chief executive of the FCA in March 2020 after Andrew Bailey left the role to become Bank of England governor. Before that he was the regulator’s director of strategy and competition, and an executive board member.

At the FCA, he founded Project Innovate, a scheme to help fintech firms overcome regulatory hurdles, and the regulatory Sandbox, which allows businesses to test propositions in the market with real consumers.

Woolard left the FCA in September 2020 before joining EY in February last year as chair of its global financial services regulatory network and its leader on financial services regulation for the Emea region.

Before joining EY, Woolard spent 25 years as a public servant on boards or committees, including at the Bank of England, Federation of Small Businesses and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (Iosco).

Other honours

Another recipient of a CBE on the 2021 list was National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) Corporation chief executive Helen Dean.

Dean played a key role in devising and bringing pensions auto-enrolment to the UK market during her time at the Department for Work and Pensions and then PADA, the predecessor to Nest.

She led Nest’s marketing before being appointed as chief executive in September 2016.

Elsewhere, Refinitiv chief privacy officer Vivienne Artz, who is also the president of Women in Banking and Finance, was awarded a CBE for services to financial services and gender diversity.

Services to business and the economy

Other awards for services to the economy and business included former chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility Robert Chote who was given a knighthood for services to fiscal policy and the economy.

Similarly, Jane Guyett, a senior independent director of UK Government Investments gained a CBE for public service to the economy.

Financial Reporting Council executive director, resources and strategy Tracy Vegro was handed a CBE for services to business and diversity.

In addition, HM Treasury director of financial services Gwyneth Nurse picked up a CBE for public service.

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On 08 December 2021, the asset manager unveiled the Vanguard Sustainablelife range, comprising three multi-asset funds, and the Vanguard Global Sustainable Equity fund.

Sustainablelife is an actively-managed range, including a 40-50% equity, 60-70% equity and 80-90% equity option. All three funds are managed by Wellington Management Company and invest in global equities and bonds, with an ongoing charges figure of 0.48%.

The range applies ESG criteria to each of the companies it invests in based on four sustainability principles: a commitment to net zero by 2050; exclusion of companies involved in areas such as thermal coal, tar sands and tobacco; engagement with portfolio companies on material ESG issues; and for companies to follow good governance practices as a precondition for investment.

The Global Sustainable Equity fund invests in global companies, while actively incorporating sustainable investment criteria. The fund is also managed by Wellington and has a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, as well as an OCF of 0.48%.

The firm now has 10 ESG funds and ETFs available to UK investors.

Vanguard head of ESG strategy, Europe, Fong Yee Chan said: “Today’s launch represents our commitment to helping investors balance their personal values with their financial goals as interest in sustainable investing continues to grow.”

Ethical alternative

Interactive Investor (II) head of funds research Dzmitry Lipski said Vanguard has been slow to embrace a sustainable investing range, so these launches fill an important gap in its offering and are very welcome.

“At first glance, the Vanguard Sustainablelife range looks like a good ethical, active alternative to the hugely successful Lifestrategy range, and the similarities in the names are clearly deliberate.

“If that doesn’t shake up competition in the market, nothing will.”

Not the cheapest

Vanguard is known for its low-cost funds but Lipski noted the new range is not the cheapest on the market.

“The BMO Sustainable Map range, for example, has an ongoing charge of 0.35% on II, versus 0.48% for the new Vanguard Sustainablelife launch.

“That said, Vanguard do have a history of slashing costs as assets increase, and while ethical investing does not have to be a race to the bottom on costs, charges do matter.”

Lipski said having Wellington behind the funds brings institutional quality management to retail investors.

“Competition for sustainable funds has just stepped up a gear, and this is great news for investors.”

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The wealth manager’s annual results published on 24 November 2021 revealed total funds at £56.9bn ($76bn, €68bn) at the end of September, up from £47.6bn the year before.

This figure was bolstered by £2.1bn of net flows across the business and £7.1bn of investment performance. Investment performance during the year was 14.9% compared with the MSCI Pimfa Private Investor Balanced Index’s 13.6%.

Total discretionary funds grew by 20.9% to £49.8bn, with net flows of £1.9bn, compared with £900m the year before. It reported record gross discretionary inflows of £4bn.

Direct discretionary net flows were £500m, driven by record gross inflows of £1.9bn and outflows of £900m.

Indirect discretionary net flows, meanwhile, were up 75% from the year before at £1.4bn. Flows of £1bn into Brewin Dolphin’s MPS and Voyager ranges were a significant driver to this growth, it said.

£4m hit

The firm’s statutory profit before tax was 16.7% higher at £72.5m. Its adjusted items for the year were also higher at £18.4m, compared with £16.1m in 2020.

These included acquisition costs of £1.5m, aborted acquisition costs, onerous contracts of £3.6m, with the majority relating to the decision to not move its London office to 25 Cannon Street and to assign or sublet the space instead once the lease commences.

In its full year results report dated 27 November 2019, Brewin Dolphin announced a plan to move its head office in 2022 to 25 Cannon Street. It canned this plan last month, however, after concluding its current office in Smithfield has the capacity to fulfil its current needs and future growth.

Robin Beer, Brewin Dolphin chief executive, said: “We have had an exceptional year achieving record discretionary inflows and are delivering on our growth ambitions.

“None of this would have been possible without our people, who have adapted so effectively to remote working and continue to focus on putting our clients at the centre of all their decision making.”

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River and Mercantile is in the middle of a bidding war between Premier Miton and Assetco after both asset groups confirmed in stock exchange announcements on 23 November 2021 they had approached the firm regarding an acquisition.

River and Mercantile confirmed it had received preliminary approaches from both groups, but added: “There can be no certainty that any offer will be made by either of Assetco or Premier Miton, nor as to the terms on which any such offer might be made.”

Assetco said its directors believe the firm and River and Mercantile are “highly complementary” and combining the two groups’ management teams would “create significant value for the combined group’s clients, portfolio managers, employees and shareholders”.

Premier Miton, meanwhile, said it believed “the scale and synergy benefits arising from a combination with River and Mercantile would drive value accretion for both sets of shareholders”.

Conditional on sale of solutions business

Both Assetco and Premier Miton have stated that any offer would be conditional on River and Mercantile completing the sale of its £42bn ($56bn, €49bn) solutions business which is due to be offloaded to Schroders in the first quarter of 2022.

Assetco already owns 5 million River and Mercantile shares representing approximately 5.85% of its voting rights of the company. Assetco chairman Martin Gilbert is also deputy chairman of River and Mercantile and, as such, has recused himself from the board for the purposes of discussions concerning the offer.

“It seemed obvious when Gilbert/Assetco took a stake in River and Mercantile an offer would be made at some point,” said Fairview Investing founder Ben Yearsley.

UK strategy overlap

Chelsea Financial Services managing director Darius McDermott said Premier Miton already has similar UK strategies to River and Mercantile .

Gervais Williams runs the Premier Miton UK Smaller Companies and UK Multi Cap Income funds, as well as the Miton UK Micro Cap Trust and the Diverse Income Trust.

These could overlap with the River and Mercantile UK Equity Income and UK Smaller Companies funds, run by Dan Hanbury, and the UK Recovery and UK Equity High Alpha strategies, managed by Hugh Sergeant.

“Obvious overlap is the area of smaller companies which [Premier Miton’s] Gervais Williams has… I’m not quite sure how that would fit,” McDermott said.

McDermott noted, however, that Assetco owns Saracen Fund Managers which also specialises in UK equities, with the UK Alpha and UK Income funds. But he said there is the chance that River and Mercantile retains autonomy if it is bought by Assetco, in which case it would benefit from centralised savings around compliance.

Unhappy managers will leave

McDermott added from a fund buyer’s perspective he would want to make sure that the River and Mercantile managers, including Hanbury and Sergeant, were happy with being acquired. “If they’re not happy, they won’t stay,” he said.

AJ Bell head of active strategies Ryan Hughes said River and Mercantile has been pushing in the UK for some time and Premier Miton has grown that capability as well.

If the two groups merged, Hughes said there would be six different funds in the UK All Companies sector with a Premier Miton/River and Mercantile badge, and there would be overlap in equity income and small cap.

“Absolutely you could see the potential for some tidying up of a UK range and some consolidation there,” he added.

But Hughes said, outside of UK strategies, it is not too bad a fit between Premier Miton and River and Mercantile.

Yearsley added from an investor’s point of view, Assetco would be the better home for River and Mercantile.

“Of the two, the Assetco deal is a better fit from an investor’s perspective as there is no real overlap,” he said. “I think Premier could get messier as both are strong on UK, income and small cap.”

Under takeover code rules, Assetco and Premier Miton have until 5pm on 21 December to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for River and Mercantile, or not, in which case they cannot make another bid for six months afterwards.

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The programme, unveiled by SJP’s learning and development (L&D) team, uses VR and augmented reality (AR) technology to help facilitate training and role playing for its adviser trainees.

Trainees are provided with headsets that allow them to experience the role of an adviser and engage in conversations with virtual clients through a series of multiple-choice questions.

They can then watch the encounter back to increase their understanding from a client’s point of view and receive feedback by hearing clients’ thoughts played out.

‘Leaves me craving human interaction’

Langcat consulting director Mike Barrett said it is great to see investment in adviser learning and development programmes and making this sort of training accessible to anyone from any location is positive.

But he added: “I have to say the thought of learning via interactions in a virtual world leaves me feeling cold and craving human interaction.”

Similarly, Boring Money founder and chief executive Holly Mackay said coaching and training is vital, but she questioned whether empathy and human connection can really be taught using a headset.

“If I overcome my initial scepticism, it could possibly be used to gently force some people to see conversations from the perspective of someone very different. For example, we know that many women still feel left out of the discussions by some financial advisers,” Mackay added.

“However, it mostly makes me feel like I do when my children try to persuade me that their music is fabulous: old and grumpy.”

CWC Research managing director Clive Waller said without knowing more at this stage, his concerns are around how it impacted networking between students and trainers.

“If they can deliver more and better training without any aspects lost, all luck to them,” he added.

Trainees work from any location at their own pace

SJP first introduced VR role playing in September through the SJP Academy. Alongside in-person teaching, SJP said it provides a blend of face-to-face and remote-based learning adopted during the pandemic.

The wealth manager added reducing the need for solely classroom learning means financial planning training becomes more accessible as trainees are able to work from any location at their own pace. It said the programme has enabled the academy to double its intake this year to 400 delegates across 22 locations.

Di Macdonald, SJP divisional director of learning and development, said: “The intention is to give people a safe space to practice in, so that they can gain confidence without the need for access to trainers, coaches or peers. It also enables us to utilise resources more effectively and train more people in a shorter space of time.”

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