Company information
Heartwood Group
Heartwood is an independently-operated subsidiary of Handelsbanken, the Swedish bank that has been growing rapidly in the UK (now over 170 branches). Heartwood was acquired by Handelsbanken in May 2013 and is responsible for all of the Handelsbanken Group’s wealth and investment management activities in the UK. Handelsbanken has been attracting a lot of positive attention for its business model and culture.
Both Heartwood and Handelsbanken share a culture which is focused on client satisfaction. Heartwood’s vision is to help Handelsbanken continue to build the only national bank in the UK that:
- is built around client satisfaction
- combines first class banking, advice and investment management
- which are strong on their own merits
- …but which will be at their best, and have no true national rival, when combined.
Heartwood has developed its services and grown steadily over 25 years as a private company. It has developed a strong reputation for providing advice and wealth management to private clients (including business owners, private equity partners, leading investment bankers and FTSE 100 CEOs and CFOs) and for multi-asset class investment management through Heartwood Investment Management (“HIM”). Total FUM are over £2 billion.
Heartwood has recently developed its corporate structure to facilitate the planned expansion of the business and to align that structure to the corporate vision. There are three client-facing divisions as well as support functions:
- Private Clients has the responsibility for overall client relationships, typically acting as the trusted adviser providing holistic advice through all stages of a client’s lifecycle;
- Heartwood Investment Management manages money for all Heartwood’s clients, as well as operating its own distribution channels which include Professional Advisors, Charities and IFAs.
- A newly established Advice Division which is responsible for the financial planning and tax advisory aspects of the overall proposition for clients (Heartwood does not currently focus on and has no plans to focus on advice-only clients), including both technical content and internal support/training for PC advisers where appropriate.
Although historically Heartwood’s offices have been located in London and Tunbridge Wells, a significant growth phase is now underway which has already seen the appointment of client-facing individuals to work across the network of Handelsbanken UK branches in order to build a truly national presence.
This is an opportunity to join a successful and fast-growing national organisation focused on client satisfaction with the added benefit of being part of a significant multinational group.