Merian’s UK distribution boss Simon Smith has left the business ahead of its acquisition by Jupiter and landed at River & Mercantile.
Smith joins River & Mercantile in July as managing director, head of UK wholesale distribution, according to a press release. He replaces Mark Thomas who left the £40.5bn fund group for Jupiter in December to become its head of UK sales.
Smith has been head of UK distribution at Merian for over a decade, joining the firm in November 2011 when it was still Old Mutual Global Investors. At Merian he managed a team that was responsible for a significant proportion of the firm’s assets under management for more than 700 intermediary clients.
Smith’s departure is part of a wider reshuffle ahead of Merian’s acquisition by Jupiter which is due to complete next month. Approximately 40 professionals from Merian, including 23 fund managers, will join Jupiter from Merian.
Jupiter revealed earlier today it had replaced several Merian fund managers with its own and last week confirmed changes to its distribution team, with Merian’s Warren Tonkinson becoming managing director for distribution.
A string of Jupiter regional sales managers are also reported to have left the business, including Rupert Bonsor, Paul Faragher, David Brown and Andy Hanson.
In his new role at River & Mercantile Smith will work closely with the marketing and client service teams. He will also join River and Mercantile’s global distribution management team.
Commenting on his appointment Smith said: “I’m incredibly excited to be joining R&M. It’s a business with ambitious growth potential and collective determination to achieve its goals. I’ll be leveraging all of my 25 years’ experience in the UK wholesale market to establish R&M as one of the leading asset management boutiques working alongside UK wealth managers and intermediaries while delivering a first-class investment and service proposition.”
