Rob Gardner is to leave St James’s Place after nearly four years to set up a new venture in the environmental sector.
Succeeding him as director of investments is Tom Beal (pictured), who has been with the wealth manager for 14 years, latterly as chief investment officer.
Gardner will remain with SJP until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition, but Beal steps into the CIO role with immediate effect.
CEO Andrew Croft said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Rob and I am grateful for his stewardship of the investment division over a period of political uncertainty and challenging markets. I look forward to seeing his new venture develop and wish him well as he pursues his personal passion.
“Tom is a great asset to our team and has been co-author and architect of our investment strategy. He will continue with its delivery, guided by our investment beliefs and goals.”
Beal added: “My focus will be on continuing to build the investment strategy that we have developed over the past few years to deliver the best possible investment outcomes for our clients. This strategy will remain based around four keys aims: improving performance, creating capacity, reducing fees, and embedding responsible investing across everything we do.”
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