AJ Bell expands investment team with two senior hires

Richard Slattery-Vickers joins the wealth management platform as head of investment product, and will be in charge of the day-to-day running of AJ Bell’s investment products and services. He will also take the reins on future product developments and new launches.

AJ Bell promotes Ryan Hughes to lead MPS and multi-asset proposition

Slattery-Vickers joins from his previous role as partner at Castlefield, a firm at which he spent more than seven years and was responsible for establishing a new investment fund business, working closely with in-house and third party investment managers. He was also in charge of overseeing the expansion of Castlefield’s fund range.

Before that, Slattery-Vickers was at BNY Mellon for almost ten years, first as senior investment accountant and later as service delivery manager.

Additionally, Paul Angell is set to become AJ Bell’s new head of investment research.

He replaces Alena Kosova, who left earlier this year, after a little over a year in the role.

Angell will be responsible for the research and analysis that powers AJ Bell’s investment solutions. These include its managed portfolio service (MPS) for advisers, a range of multi-asset funds available via advisers and direct-to-consumer, and the AJ Bell Favourite funds list.

He joins from his role as senior investment consultant at Square Mile Investment Consulting and Research.

At Square Mile, Angell specialised in delivering investment consultancy services to clients across fund selection and governance. He also led fund research coverage for high yield credit, government bonds and specialist equity funds.

AJ Bell’s Alena Kosava departs

Angell said: “After a great seven and a half years at Square Mile, I am thrilled to be joining AJ Bell at this exciting juncture in the growth of the business.

“The client-focused approach of the firm is a real draw for me, and I look forward to working with the team to help more people reach their investment goals.”

Ryan Hughes, who was promoted this week to investment director at AJ Bell, said: “The appointment of Richard as head of investment product places him at the forefront of product development and expansion of our investments offering.

“He comes with considerable experience in this area from his time at Castlefield and we have every faith that his addition to the team will be invaluable as we look to keep developing and improving our propositions.

“We are also delighted to add Paul. Given his extensive experience and knowledge of the investment landscape, I am sure he will make a huge contribution to the investment research process that underpins our broad range of investment solutions.”