Adam & Co staff now impervious to headhunter's advances
After all the upheaval at Adam & Co over the last few months, headhunters have approached "every member of the team several times" according to one senior staff member, but most employees are now content to sit tight.
Working at private bank Adam & Co can't have been a particularly pleasant experience over the last few months. In September, its managing director David Cathie resigned, then Brewin Dolphin poached Adam's entire seven-strong Glasgow investment team in October, while Scott Lothian, a senior investment manager, left to join Brooks Macdonald shortly afterwards.
And this followed the departure of almost 70% of its investment administration business to a rival Edinburgh firm in August. Add in a scandal over fees and service levels and it's obvious that, aside from the headline exits, many more would have been considering their career options.
"You can't have that level of staff turnover and not look around and wonder just what the hell is going on," says one senior employee who declined to be named. "But, now I believe things have really settled down and most people are working hard to get the company back on track."
Even the global head of parent company RBS's wealth management business has admitted the bank had "fallen into the trap of becoming a bit lazy with its communication."
Adam seems to be licking its wounds, and has stated its intention to begin replacing the slew of departures. Last week it unveiled Ken Wilson as an investment manager in its Glasgow office, and previously hired Simon Murphy to head up the office.
It also unveiled a trio of fund manager appointments in its central belt offices this week. Stuart Dickson joins from Ignis Asset Management as investment director in Glasgow, Ken Wilson comes in as senior investment advisor from KGL Independent and Anna Croze is a new senior investment manager within Adam & Co's Edinburgh office.
"There was a period where every member of the team was being approached several times by headhunters thinking they were easy pickings," adds the Adam employee. "But to be honest, there doesn't seem to be much else locally that matches what we do here. Either you become a salesman, trying to build a book of business from scratch, or take the stockbroking route. Most decided to stay put."
But there's another potential threat to this supposedly now harmonious environment. Former Adam & Co chairman, Ray Entwhistle, has unveiled plans to launch a new private bank in Edinburgh and London. His old stomping ground seems like an obvious target as he looks to build the staff base.
