Close Wealth co-founder Carr-Stevens to launch wealth firm

Former Close Wealth Management co-founder Elizabeth Carr-Stevens has joined investment bank Hartmann Capital to spearhead the launch of its private client division.

Hartmann Capital, which has derivatives, fund management and fixed income divisions, is broadening its offering to target high and ultra-high net worth individuals. The firm was founded by Andrew Fitton, founder of hedge fund outfit Gracchi Capital Partners.

Managing director Carr-Stevens (pictured) has been joined by ex-Arjent colleague Nick Atkinson and Stephen Grell, formerly of Republic Bank Group in the Caribbean, who both join as senior investment managers. Carr-Stevens previously headed Cazenove’s Salisbury office and was most recently the head of private clients at Arjent.

The new firm will offer bespoke portfolio management and will target clients with £1 million to £10 million in investable assets, charging 1% on portfolios up to £1 million and 0.5% thereafter for discretionary and advisory services.

Describing the ethos of the new business, Carr-Stevens said: ‘We were keen to offer private clients access to an institutional approach to portfolio management. It is important for us to maintain a robust investment process but with a tailored approach, and without the rigid and sometimes limiting nature of model portfolios.’

As part of Hartmann’s institutional approach, Carr-Stevens said every client will be given their own investment policy statement from the outset which will include investment objectives, risk profile, potential volatility profile and liquidity needs. ‘If you are doing this for a charity client, you should do this for every individual who comes through the door,’ she said.

The firm takes a multi-asset approach based on optimisation measured against the efficient frontier, with portfolio construction and asset allocation driven by historic risk, return and correlation information.

The team can invest in direct securities or collectives, depending on the client’s preference and will also seek to benefit from Hartmann and Gracchi’s derivatives and hedge fund experience.