Andjel is a portfolio manager and previously served as deputy dead of UK Private Clients and Charities. Prior to joining Brown Advisory in 2016, he was a portfolio director at GAM Investments, responsible for a broad range of private and charity clients. Nick’s career also includes roles at Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Barings Asset Management.

Brown Advisory’s international presence, established by Logie Fitzwilliams in 2007, comprises around $30bn in client assets. Of this, the Private Client and Charity AUM is $4.5bn. The dedicated Private Client team has grown to 25 colleagues, including 14 portfolio managers and investment professionals. They design and manage bespoke investment portfolios for a client base of individuals, charities, family offices, endowments, and foundations, often dealing with complex and multi-jurisdiction financial considerations.

Quintin Ings-Chambers, head of International Business at Brown Advisory, said: “We are delighted that Nick will be taking over as Head of UK Private Clients and Charities at Brown Advisory and look forward to him building on the excellent service and counsel he has provided to our clients over the past eight years. Brown Advisory is a client first firm, focused on the highest levels of service and performance and Nick has shown exemplary leadership in this respect.”

Logie Fitzwilliams, Co-CEO of Brown Advisory, said: “I’d like to congratulate both Quintin and Nick on their appointments as Head of International Business and Head of UK Private Clients and Charities, respectively. I have worked closely with both for many years in London and have seen them provide our private clients with the highest standard of service and advice. I also have no doubt that the International Business, and Private Clients, will continue to succeed under their leadership.”

Quintin joined Brown Advisory in 2012 and most latterly was head of the firm’s International Private Clients and Charities team. Prior to joining Brown Advisory, he was an investment director at SG Hambros and a director in the private client and charity group of Barings Asset Management. His earlier career was at Rensburg Sheppards where he was a member of the group’s asset allocation committee and managed a multi-manager unit trust.

London serves as the international business headquarters and comprises global equity and fixed income teams, a UK private clients and strategic advisory team, and a significant business development effort. From London, the firm launched its UCITs funds business based in Dublin and opened offices in Frankfurt, Singapore, and Tokyo to better serve the European, Asian and Australian regions.

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.

In a statement on 7 January the government said investments made through an eligible private company wholly owned by an applicant and assets of family members will be counted towards the new Capital Investment Entrant Scheme starting from  1 March 2025.

The already established scheme, which has seen 240 successful applications in its first 10 months from 1 March 2024, requires people to invest HK$30m to obtain residency.

The secretary for financial services and the treasury, Christopher Hui, said: “The New CIES has attracted high-net-worth individuals, business elites and innovative entrepreneurs. Since the launch of the scheme, we have been liaising closely with the industry and are continuously working on further enhancements.

“The enhancement measures announced today have not only relaxed the net asset assessment and calculation requirements but also allowed investments made through an eligible private company wholly owned by an applicant to be counted towards the eligible investment.

“We believe these measures will encourage more investors to join the scheme and can create synergy with the tax concession regime for family offices, thereby promoting the development of family office businesses in Hong Kong.

“We are committed to providing comprehensive support for family office decision-makers to establish themselves in Hong Kong, further attracting global asset owners and reinforcing Hong Kong’s leading position as an international asset and wealth management hub.”

The director-general of investment promotion, Alpha Lau, said: “The number of applications for the New CIES in the first 10 months has exceeded the number of applications received for the same period under the previous Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, which was launched in 2003.

“This reflects the strong confidence of investors in Hong Kong. I trust that these measures will enhance the attractiveness of the scheme. We will continue to work closely with professionals and service providers to further promote the scheme to high-net-worth families around the globe.”

Details of the enhancement measures and the status of applications under the New CIES are set out below:

1. Enhancement measures with effect from March 1, 2025

(a) Fulfilment of net asset requirement (NAR)

(i) An applicant under the New CIES is only required to demonstrate that he/she has net assets or net equity to which he/she is absolutely beneficially entitled with a market value of not less than HK$30m net throughout six months (two years before the enhancement) preceding the application; and

(ii) Net assets or net equity jointly owned with the applicant’s family member(s) can now be taken into consideration for the calculation of the NAR for the respective portion which is absolutely beneficially entitled to the applicant.

(b) Holding permissible investment assets through a Family-owned Investment Holding Vehicle (FIHV) or a Family-owned Special Purpose Entity (FSPE) under an FIHV

Investments made through an eligible private company wholly owned by an applicant will be counted towards the applicant’s eligible investment in the New CIES.

An eligible private company refers to a holding company incorporated or registered in Hong Kong which is wholly owned by an applicant in the form of an FIHV or an FSPE under an FIHV managed by an eligible single family office as defined in Section 2 of Schedule 16E to the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112).

“The enhancement will create synergy between the New CIES and establishment of family offices in Hong Kong”, the statement said.

In a statement today (8 January) Henley said Singapore reclaims its crown as the most powerful passport in the world with visa-free access to 195 out of 227 destinations worldwide, leaving Japan in the runner-up spot with a score of 193 but still ahead of the rest after it regained visa-free access to neighbouring China for the first time since the Covid lockdowns.

Several EU member states — France, Germany, Italy, and Spain — drop two places in the ranking to 3rd position, and are joined by Finland and South Korea, which each lost a place over the past 12 months and now have access to 192 destinations with no prior visa required.

A seven-nation EU cohort, all with visa-free access to 191 destinations — Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden — share 4th place, while five countries — Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK — come in 5th with 190 visa-free destinations.

On the other end of the mobility spectrum, Afghanistan, unsurprisingly, remains firmly entrenched at the bottom of the Henley Passport Index, having lost visa-free access to a further two destinations over the past year, creating the largest mobility gap in the index’s 19-year history, with Singaporeans able to travel to 169 more destinations visa-free than Afghan passport holders.

Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of international investment migration advisory firm Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, said: “The very notion of citizenship and its birthright lottery needs a fundamental rethink as temperatures rise, natural disasters become more frequent and severe, displacing communities and rendering their environments uninhabitable.

“Simultaneously, political instability and armed conflicts in various regions force countless people to flee their homes in search of safety and refuge. The need to introduce Free Global Cities to harness the untapped potential of displaced people and other migrants, transforming them from victims of circumstance into architects of their own futures has never been more pressing or apparent”.

The rest of the index’s Top 10 is largely dominated by European countries, except for Australia (6th place with 189 destinations), Canada (7th place with 188 destinations), the US (9th place with 186 destinations), and the UAE, the first and only Arab state to ever make it into the upper echelons of the rankings.

The UAE is one of the biggest climbers on the index over the past decade, having secured access to an additional 72 destinations since 2015, enabling it to climb 32 places to 10th spot with visa-free access to 185 destinations worldwide.

US and UK passports among the biggest fallers

Only 22 of the world’s 199 passports have fallen down the Henley Passport Index ranking over the past decade. Surprisingly, the US is the second-biggest faller between 2015 and 2025 after Venezuela, plummeting seven places from 2nd to its current 9th position.

Vanuatu is the third-biggest faller, losing six places from 48th to 54th position, followed by the British passport, which was top of the index in 2015 but now sits in 5th place. Completing the Top 5 losers list is Canada, which dropped three ranks over the past decade from 4th to its current 7th place.

In contrast, China is among the biggest climbers over the past decade, ascending from 94th place in 2015 to 60th in 2025, with its visa-free score increasing by 40 destinations in that time. And in terms of its openness to other nations, China has also risen on the Henley Openness Index, which ranks all 199 countries and territories worldwide according to the number of nationalities they permit entry to without a prior visa.

China granted visa-free access to a further 29 countries over the past year alone, and now sits in 80th position, granting visa-free entry to a total of 58 nations as the new year commences, compared to its rival America, which ranks 84th and allows just 46 other countries access without a prior visa.

Commenting in the Henley Global Mobility Report 2025 Q1, released today alongside the latest Henley Passport Index, Annie Pforzheimer, senior associate at Washington thinktank the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the continued comparative decline of the US in terms of global mobility is no surprise: “Even before the advent of a second Trump presidency, American political trends had become notably inward-looking and isolationist. Even though US economic health relies heavily on immigration, tourism, and trade, voters during the 2024 presidential campaign were fed a narrative that America can (and should) stand alone.

“Ultimately, if tariffs and deportations are the Trump administration’s default policy tools, not only will the US continue to decline on the mobility index on a comparative basis, but it will probably do so in absolute terms as well. This trend in tandem with China’s greater openness will likely give rise to Asia’s greater soft power dominance worldwide.”

Dr. Tim Klatte, a partner in Grant Thornton China and an adjunct professor at Shanghai New York University and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, agrees, and adds that the upcoming second inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump will mark a turning point in US–China economic relations and, by extension, for the world economy. “The Trump-era trade wars will not only be viewed as bilateral disputes — they will serve as transformative events for the global economy.

“Disrupting trade flows, raising costs, and sowing uncertainty will require businesses, governments, and international institutions to adapt to a new reality. This strategy raises serious concerns about the fragmentation of the global economy and the potential for increased geopolitical tensions.

“Trump has not been shy about his foreign policy strategies, from Canada to China, and his direct approach will continue to present doubts in the confidence of the USA’s passport power moving forward.”

Americans are top applicants for second citizenships

US nationals currently constitute the single largest cohort of applicants for alternative residence and citizenship, accounting for a staggering 21% of all investment migration program applications received by Henley & Partners in 2024.

CEO Dr. Juerg Steffen says the firm has more American clients than the next four biggest nationalities — Turkish, Filipino, Indian, and Brits — combined. “Faced with unprecedented volatility, investors and wealthy families are adopting a strategy of geopolitical arbitrage to acquire additional residence and/or citizenship options to hedge against jurisdictional risk and leverage the differences in legal, economic, political, and social conditions across countries to optimize their personal, financial, and lifestyle outcomes.”

Looking ahead to 2025, projections by Henley & Partners and New World Wealth indicate an even greater surge in millionaire migration worldwide, with 142,000 high-net-worth individuals with liquid investable wealth of USD 1 million or more expected to relocate and seek new horizons.

Dr. Steffen said: “this represents the most significant wealth migration wave ever documented and reflects fundamental changes in how affluent individuals are mitigating risks and creating opportunities in an increasingly unstable and polarized world”.

Political risk insurance

Commenting in the Henley Global Mobility Report 2025 Q1, Prof. Peter J. Spiro of Temple University Law School in Philadelphia and a leading expert on dual citizenship said the Trump reprise magnifies another element of value for alternative residence or citizenship rights: political risk insurance.

“This time around, the stakes are higher. During the first Trump administration, legacy political guardrails were still in place. Now, many are gone. There is a sense that what Trump wants, Trump will be able to get. His political agenda is mercurial, to say the least, and political uncertainty is the result. Americans can no longer take stability for granted. Trump can be fickle with outsiders, too.

“It is almost certain that he will resurrect the infamous “travel ban”, which he put in place a week after he first took office, early in the new administration. The ban precluded targeted nationals from securing permanent residence in the USA as well as a range of temporary-stay visas. But the bans did not apply to citizens of targeted states if they held an additional citizenship of a non-targeted state. The carve-out for dual citizens made sense.”

Visa racism: Africans twice as likely to be rejected for Schengen visas

In exclusive new research conducted for Henley & Partners and published in the Henley Global Mobility Report 2025 Q1, Prof. Mehari Taddele Maru of the School of Transnational Governance and the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute and of Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, compared Schengen visa rejection rates for African applicants to those from other regions.

“My latest research compares the 10 countries facing the highest Schengen visa rejection rates and reveals that while globally only one in six applications is rejected, one in two African applicants is rejected. In 2023, African countries accounted for just 2.8% of global applications out of a total of over 10 million worldwide, yet half of their applications were rejected. Even more concerning is that this trend has worsened over the past decade, with rejection rates more than doubling during this period.”

The research shows that among the top 10 countries facing the highest Schengen visa rejection rates, six are in Africa. Comoros fares the worst with a 61.3% rejection rate, followed by Guinea-Bissau at 51%, Ghana at 47.5%, Mali at 46.1%, Sudan at 42.3%, and Senegal at 41.2%. Three Asian countries and a European country complete the most-rejected list: Pakistan with 49.6%, Syria with 46%, and Bangladesh with 43.3%. The contrast becomes particularly stark when comparing Africa with Asia and global rates. Despite African countries submitting only half as many applications as Asian countries, African applicants were twice as likely to be rejected.

Prof. Maru said this pattern suggests that the variation in rejection rates between regions and nationalities extends beyond purely economic factors. “This growing disparity in visa rejection rates contributes to a broader pattern of global mobility inequality. As a result, African citizens find themselves at the bottom of the mobility ladder, which significantly limits their access to international economic opportunities. In short, the poorest individuals face the greatest difficulties when seeking to travel or move to more prosperous countries. I would argue that weak economies and discriminatory policies based on identity and culture explain the high rate of rejection for African Schengen visa applicants.”

Key travel trends in 2025: ETA and ETIAS

The world of travel is preparing itself for a digital overhaul in 2025. This year marks a pivotal uplift in digital border control, from the UK’s ETA expansions to the long-anticipated European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). The UK has been rolling out its ETA system in phases. Initially open to Gulf Cooperation Council nationals in February 2024, the scheme extends to eligible non-European travelers this month (January 2025), including six million citizens from Australia, Canada, and the US. Eligible Europeans can apply from 5 March 2025 and will need an ETA to travel to the UK from 2 April 2025.

Similarly, Europe’s ETIAS, which has been delayed multiple times, is now expected to commence in May 2025. Those with a valid ETIAS authorization can enter 30 European countries as often as they want for short-term stays, normally for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

Nick Careen, senior vice president, operation, safety and security at IATA, said the organization and its members are currently trialing a pioneering project to deliver a fully digital air travel experience. “The transition to digital travel is more than just a technological upgrade — it’s a paradigm shift. By leveraging digital identity and biometrics, the aviation industry can deliver a level of efficiency and personalization that was previously unimaginable. But the impact goes beyond airports. A seamless travel experience could strengthen global connectivity, boost tourism, and support economic growth.”

The SFC said in a statement today (6 January) that Chan was sentenced by the District Court on 2 February 2024 to 20 months’ imprisonment after his convictions for three counts of fraud and one count of attempted fraud.

The Court found that Chan was assigned to a branch of SCB in Wan Chai at the material time, and his job duties included the promotion of insurance products issued by external insurers to the bank’s clients.

Between January and March 2019, Chan assisted two clients in taking out insurance policies with an external insurer. Between August and September 2019, Chan induced one of them to transfer US$52,300 to a bank account connected to him. He also induced the other client to transfer over HK$420,000 to the same bank account during the same period.

Chan did so on the pretence that the transfers would be used to settle premium payments with their insurer. He subsequently attempted to cancel the clients’ insurance policies by falsely representing to the insurer that they wished to do so.

The SFC considers that Chan is not fit and proper to be a regulated person due to his criminal convictions.

Chan was a relevant individual engaged by SCB to carry on Type 1 (dealing in securities) and Type 4 (advising on securities) regulated activities under the Securities and Futures Ordinance between 1 September 2018 and 16 October 2019.

Chan is currently not registered with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority or licensed by the SFC.