Wealth manager Dolfin is shifting its headquarters from the West End to the City, as part of a series of changes to its leadership and business model following 10 months of transformation, thewealthnet can reveal.
Dolfin will shift to a new Buckley Gray Yeoman-designed building at 77 Coleman Street near Moorgate, meaning it moves on from its current headquarters on Berkeley Street, Mayfair.
The firm said the new office would mean the incorporation of permanent flexible working and would also support upgrades to internal technology and communication.
The move is part of a wider cost-cutting and streamlining at the firm, which will include greater focus on discretionary investment management, alongside Dolfin’s original raison d’être – execution and custody.
The 2013-founded firm, which has client assets of about £3 billion, had ventured into expensive technology and platform-building projects in recent years, which will not be continued.
In late 2020 Dolfin’s chief operating officer, Robin Davies, who took control following the departure of former chief executive Denis Nagy in April 2020, told thewealthnet it was now time for the energetic start-up to “mature” and professionalise.
By the end of 2021 the firm hopes to convert its investment management clients, currently in managed portfolios, onto UCITS structures, thereby increasing the distribution of the Dolfin offering.
It is planning to launch its first fund, focused on emerging markets credit, in Q2 this year.
Despite a series of redundancies in 2020 – its headcount fell from about 130 to 75 – the firm also continued to hire during the pandemic period, adding about ten individuals to its business development and front office teams.
It has also taken the unusual – and again, cost-saving – step of not appointing a permanent chief executive for the time being. The firm’s chief executive-designate brought in to replace Mr Nagy decided not to take the role in the end, partly due to needing to be close to family abroad during the pandemic.
Instead, Rodney Baker-Bates, who joined the board as an adviser in March 2019, has stepped up as executive chairman to fulfil the CEO function. Mr Baker-Bates has more than 50 years’ experience in UK financial services, including as chief executive of Prudential. Today, his other main role is chairing insurance broker Willis.
The remainder of Dolfin’s executive committee comprises Mr Davies who has held senior operations and change posts at the likes of Citi, Deutsche Bank, and Lloyds; former Goldman Sachs director Rob Watts; Simon Black, Dolfin’s CIO since 2018; and Nick Emery, its head of compliance.
Mr Baker-Bates said in a statement to thewealthnet that the firm had, since May 2020, been implementing a “thorough and robust” transformation programme to “refine and strengthen” its core offering.
“2020 proved a challenging year for us all but enormous progress has been made and we are now firmly looking at the next stages of growth for 2021 and beyond,” Mr Baker-Bates said.
