Brooks Macdonald has announced that Brooks Financial chief executive, Mike Holden, is stepping down.

Holden co-founded LIFT-Financial 18 years ago. He joined Brooks Macdonald as part of its acquisition of LIFT and has since played a key role leading the integration of the financial planning businesses. Holden has decided to retire with effect from 1 October 2025. Additionally, Brooks Macdonald chief people officer, Debbie Dalzell, has decided to leave the firm to pursue external opportunities. Brooks Macdonald said that successors for both roles will be announced in due course.

W1M Wealth Management has appointed Jake Lewis as business development manager for adviser solutions.

The newly merged wealth and investment management firm of Waverton and London & Capital said the appointment signalled its ambitions to grow its network of independent financial advisers. Lewis will be responsible for developing and managing adviser relationships across Greater London, as well as selling W1M’s full range of solutions from MPS to bespoke portfolios. He brings more than 20 years of sales experience in the wealth management sector to the role, joining from Rathbones Group where he spent the last five years as business development manager. Prior to that, Lewis was senior business development manager at Brooks Macdonald for three years.

Sylvan Financial Management has named Haydn Barlow as a chartered financial planner.

Barlow joins Sylvan with more than 20 years of experience in the financial planning industry. Most recently, he served clients at Equilibrium Financial Planning in Wilmslow. He brings expertise in retirement planning, wealth preservation, and client-focused financial advice to the role. Sylvan said the appointment of Barlow marked a significant step in its growth and commitment to delivering financial planning services. Barlow shares a professional relationship with Sylvan founding directors Jane Patrick, Ed Painter, and Adrian Edwards, having worked with them at The Roberts Partnership.

AJ Bell has appointed Jeremy Mugridge to its advised senior leadership team as its marketing director.

Mugridge will be taking up a new role that will see him work closely with the product and sales teams to lead the development, implementation and management of the marketing strategy for AJ Bell’s existing advised products including AJ Bell Investcentre, AJ Bell Custody Solutions and AJ Bell Touch. He will also be working with the AJ Bell Investments team to support the promotion of its investment solutions for advisers and their clients. Mugridge brings over 25 years of experience to the role, having previously held positions at Quilter, Cofunds and Aegon.

---