Kevin Russell has been hired to the newly created role of proposition director, while John Higgins and Paul Bayliss have joined as head of change and sales director respectively.
Joining from Standard Life where he has spent the past 26 years, latterly as head of platform and e-business development, Russell will be responsible for driving the firm’s platform proposition in the UK.
According to SEI MD, Brett Williams, the appointment significantly strengthens the firm’s executive management team and will help ensure that it fully capitalises on the strong start made to the year and ensure it continues to grow.
Speaking to Portfolio Adviser following the announcement of the deal with WH Ireland, Williams said there has never been a greater need for financial advice but, from the perspective of the wealth management community, “it has never been more expensive nor more risky to provide that advice , both from a regulatory point of view and from a technological standpoint.”
“What we are trying to do is help wealth managers take advantage of the opportunity and mitigate the cost and risk,” he added, pointing out that in recent years the firm’s largest competitor has been wealth managers deciding that the risk of changing their technology was greater than the risk of doing nothing. But, he said, that is no longer really an option.
Russell clearly shares this view adding: “It is clear that only those that invest in their infrastructure will be able to keep pace with regulatory and technology pressures. Given this environment, I expect to see more wealth managers choosing to outsource non-core elements of their business and focus internally on what they do best – delivering a great service to their clients. SEI is well positioned for further growth in the UK and I am looking forward to working with the rest of the senior leadership team to ensure that the offer remains market leading.”
