Wood has been with Quilter Cheviot since 2012, serving in London as the head of investment fund research, where he has curated the firm’s fund research team and implemented a "robust fund selection process." As head of regional offices, Wood will be responsible for developing and maintaining the business plan for the regional private client investment management teams and will split his time between the 10 Quilter Cheviot regional offices. Wood will also sit on the Quilter Cheviot executive committee, the firm said in a statement.

Wood's appointment is another example of the type of regional strategies that wealth managers are adopting: UBS has offices in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh; Brown Shipley also has Leeds, Manchester, London and Birmingham offices, and a presence in Cambridge and Norwich; whilst Sorbus is run from Manchester. UK wealth manager LGT Wealth Management, part of the LGT Group, recently opened a Manchester office and Canaccord Wealth has just bolstered its Midlands presence. See more commentary here, here and here.

Matt Ennion, who has been appointed as Wood’s successor, will be taking over as Quilter Cheviot’s head of investment fund research in January, the firm said. Ennion will lead the nine-strong fund research team, providing recommendations to support the investment managers within Quilter Cheviot, and will be responsible for investment within the context of fund research.

Ennion joined Quilter Cheviot in 2019 as a senior investment analyst. He is the chair of its Alternatives Investment Committee and a member of both the Investment Funds and Asset Allocation Committees. He brings experience to the role, including his five years at Quilter Cheviot, previous positions as investment director at both Walker Crips and Baker Tilly Investment Solutions, as well as head of fund research at Bordier UK.

“Nick will bring a fresh, analytical perspective to our regionally-based UK investment management teams, supported by his deep understanding of Quilter Cheviot and its operations,” Andrew McGlone, chief executive officer at Quilter Cheviot, said. “Matt Ennion, with his extensive experience, is well positioned to succeed Nick. Having worked closely with the nine-strong team for several years, Matt’s strong relationships with our investment managers will serve him well in the new role.” 

“I also want to express my gratitude to Richard Thorn for his steadfast commitment to Quilter Cheviot over nearly four decades," McGlone added. 

Quilter Cheviot has offices in the UK, Jersey, Dublin and a DIFC Dubai branch. The business comprises two branded segments: Quilter and Quilter Cheviot – Quilter oversees £116.2 billion ($147.5 billion) in customer investments, as of 30 September.