Fairbairn Private Bank announced a recent promotion of Lucy Connick to join its private banking team. Ms Connick started with the bank’s client services team in February 2008 and came from HSBC International, where she was employed latterly as a business specialist.
Ms Connick has been working towards joining the private banking team for a while and her recent success in the Level 6 Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment Private Client Investment Advice and Management (PCIAM) exams earlier this year certainly contributed to securing the promotion.
‘‘Lucy’s enthusiasm to grasp the technical aspects of the role, coupled with her dedication to building strong relationships with her clients, makes her a very welcome addition to the team,’’ commented Cameron Walker, head of relationship management.
“We are dedicated to developing our client relationships and over the last 12 months we have considerably increased the strength and depth of the private banking team. There have been a number of new appointments and internal promotions, and over 60% of the team has already attained the Level 6 PCIAM qualification.”
“We are getting ahead of the game on the qualifications front as we believe our clients can only benefit from this approach. The Level 6 qualification is substantially higher than the standard normally required to give investment advice and demonstrates each manager’s ability to understand and identify clients’ investment needs and provide the most appropriate solutions,” explained Mr Walker.
The UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) Retail Distribution Review (RDR) has specified that by the end of 2012 any person who provides investment advice should obtain the minimum standard of an Ofqual* approved level 4 qualification. Although RDR currently only applies in the UK, many of the bank’s private banking staff, whether based in the UK, Isle of Man or Jersey office, are working towards a minimum level 6 qualification. It is anticipated these regulatory changes will be introduced in the Isle of Man and Jersey by January 2014.
*Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. Ofqual is responsible for maintaining standards, improving confidence and examinations. It regulates general and vocational qualifications in England and vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland.
