Barclays Private Bank and Wealth Management (PBWM) has appointed Mo Syed as head of private bank and wealth management UK and Crown Dependencies.

The appointment, which is subject to regulatory approval, was made by Barclays PBWM CEO, Sasha Wiggins, who Syed will be reporting to in his new position. In this new role, Syed will be responsible for leading the UK private bank, wealth management, digital investing, and Crown Dependencies. Barclays is hoping that bringing the businesses under a single leader will enable a full spectrum of services to be provided to clients in the UK. Syed brings a wealth of experience to his new role, having previously served as Coutts and NatWest CEO asset management, and Coutts interim CEO. He will take up his position in February 2025.

Stonehage Fleming Investment Management (SFIM) has named Carolyn Bell as deputy portfolio manager for its flagship £3.8bn Global Best Ideas Equity Strategy (GBI).

Bell initially joined SFIM as partner in April 2024, working closely with head of global equity management and lead portfolio manager, Gerrit Smit, on investment decisions and the day-to-day management of GBI and other collective vehicles with the same investment strategy. She has 16 years of industry experience, having previously been an investment manager at Aegon Asset Management running several strategies covering US and global equities, and technology. Prior to Aegon Asset Management, Bell spent five years as an investment analyst at Baillie Gifford.

Network for independent financial advisers (IFA), ValidPath, has announced Tim Riseborough has joined the board of directors of ValidPath and ValidPath Financial Limited.

Riseborough is Rimbal chief operating officer and ValidPath group operations director, and has received authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority to join the board. ValidPath said that Riseborough had played a pivotal role in expanding the team and operational capacity of ValidPath over the past 12 months. He has over 25 years’ experience in senior operational and finance roles in banking and financial services. Prior to joining ValidPath, Riseborough was chief operating officer and chief financial officer for wealth management fintech Vestrata, and chief operating officer for Step One Finance. He also previously worked at several global banks including HSBC, Barclays and Goldman Sachs.

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