Sanlam UK Group CEO Jonathan Polin is to take up the role of chief executive of the executive committee for a new company formed from the wealth management arm of Sanlam UK, which was acquired by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management in September 2021.
The sale saw Sanlam Wealth chief executive John White leave the business with Polin assuming his responsibilities on an interim basis.
A spokesperson for Sanlam confirmed to Portfolio Adviser that Polin will leave Sanlam Group once the acquisition completes.
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He will be joined by Haig Bathgate as head of investments, who will join from 7IM after the deal completes in April.
Nicola Fraser remains chief financial officer, with Niral Parekh joining as chief operating officer and Christopher Kraft coming-in as chief commercial officer.
Parekh was previously head of retail asset & wealth management at Capco and head of product proposition and director of corporate strategy at Tilney Group.
Kraft was chief operating officer at True Potential, having spent almost a decade at Perella Weinberg Partners.
Their roles will also officially start in early April once change in control has been confirmed by the regulator.
They will be supported by a senior management team with specialisms across the different business areas.
All of their financial information in one place
The company, which appears to be unnamed at this stage, aims to be the first truly digitally enabled, hybrid wealth business in the UK, it said.
It will prioritise superior client service, an encompassing digital user experience and a commitment to sustainability. To help achieve this, the new digital platform will give clients their own financial ecosystem, where they can see all their financial information in one place, from banking and credit cards to investments.
They will be able to elect how they interact with the company, whether digitally, face-to-face or a hybrid of the two, maintaining the full personalisation of their service with the ongoing visibility and transparency provided by a completely new digital platform.
Polin said: “We are excited to announce this strong and decisive new Exco as we set our ambitions, under new ownership, to take our business far beyond the traditional wealth management model and provide clients with a new suite of digital tools.
“This will enable our clients to have unsurpassed look-through capability into their individual financial universe while maintaining the personal service they have come to expect.
“We have put in place a team of specialist senior business managers to support the Exco and to communicate more directly with the wider business, driving greater dynamism and empowerment of our staff to give clients the best service available anywhere.”
