Directory of Members
Members of the association are listed on the following pages in alphabetical order.
Key to members' entries
All ASIM members providing financial services or investment advice must have partners or staff who are qualified to do this specialist work. Since December 2001 ASIM members, like other providers of financial and investment services in the United Kingdom, have been regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Investment staff in solicitor firms, and obviously those in stand-alone investment businesses, are specialists who have come from the City, a stockbroking firm or another private client investment manager, or they have trained within the specialist department of an ASIM firm. In either case, they may also be solicitors who have trained appropriately to do investment work. Solicitors are marked with an asterisk (*) in directory entries.
Qualified representatives or investment managers shown in each member's entry are those qualified and authorised to manage investment portfolios. All ASIM members must have at least one such person. It may also be useful for you to know in which of the other areas an ASIM firm is able to help you and so we have included this information at the end of the ticks-and-crosses section in full members' individual entries.
Approved individuals are those approved by the FSA for key roles within the firm but not necessarily qualified as investment managers.
Some firms have investment managers with additional qualifications. Here are explanations of the more common initials that appear in the members' entries:
ASIP Associate of the UK Society of Investment Professionals
CA Chartered accountant
FSI Fellow of the Securities Institute
FSIP Fellow of the UK Society of Investment Professionals
MBA Master of Business Administration
MSI Member of the Securities Institute (usually qualified as such by having experience over many years or by having passed most but not all of the diploma exams)
Ticks and crosses
Rather than value a firm by the number of ticks it has, you should satisfy yourself that the firm you are considering provides the services you need.
Discretionary and advisory management services
A firm which provides a discretionary management service can, if the client so chooses, effect transactions at its discretion. If the client chooses an advisory management service, a firm will advise on the composition of the portfolio, keep it under review and recommend changes to the investments when it considers these to be appropriate.
Tax services
Tax services are not subject to regulation by the FSA so please note that insofar as a firm offers advice on tax it is not FSA regulated.
Authorised PEP and ISA managers
PEP and ISA managers are authorised by the Inland Revenue to administer PEPs and ISAs and thus provide a service where costs are clear. Other firms not so authorised may be able to arrange these with third-party authorised managers.
Advice on collective investments
These firms can offer advice on portfolios which consist of unit trusts, investment trusts and government securities.
Advice on direct investments
These firms can offer advice or management to clients on portfolios which contain individual companies' shares.
Provision of nominee services
These firms have their own wholly-owned nominee company or use a third party provider, in whose name securities can be registered on behalf of the client.
Firm can advise on packaged products
These firms have at least one individual who is qualified to advise on retail branded packaged products.
Firm can advise on corporate pensions
These firms have at least one individual who is qualified to advise on company pensions.
Firm can arrange/manage SIPPs
These firms can arrange self-invested pensions and manage the investments within them.