Number of locations 37 offices (2016) Founder John Spiers Headquarters London | Industry Financial services Area served United Kingdom Founded 1986 Number of employees 500 | |
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Key people Peter Hall, Jason Hollands, Gareth Lewis, Donald Reid, Lee Dooley, Tim Stalkartt and Permira Products Self-Invested Personal PensionsStocks and Shares ISAInvestment ManagementFinancial PlanningInvestment AdvisoryMulti-Asset Portfolio FundsManaged Portfolio ServiceFree Investment Report and ToolsWealth Management Profiles | ||
Bestinvest is a financial services group based in Mayfair, London. It provides independent investment advice, financial planning, wealth management and execution-only services predominantly to private investors. The group serves 70,000 clients through its website, telephone-based investment advisers and face-to-face meetings with independent financial advisers. Clients' investments are generally in funds - unit trusts, OEICs and investment trusts - or bespoke discretionary funds.
Contents
History
The company was founded in 1986 by John Spiers . Bestinvest began as a specialist firm focused on researching and broking tax-efficient investments including Business Expansion Schemes (BES), from which the firm took its original name (BESt Investment). Following the abolition of BES, the company re-focused on the Personal Equity Plan market, attracting new clients predominantly through its high media profile in the national press, including the launch of its high profile Spot the Dog report which named consistently poor investment funds. The company also earned a reputation as a smaller company specialist when it won the mandate to be the Investment Adviser for the AIM Distribution Trust VCT. From the mid-1990s it grew into a broader based private client investment advisory business, pioneering discount broking on unit trusts and OEICs, promoting the use of online fund supermarkets and establishing a discretionary investment management arm. In July 2007 it was bought by management and 3i. The company acquired HW Financial Services, the financial services arm of Haines Watts the accountancy group, in January 2010.
In November 2013 Bestinvest received the backing of private equity firm Permira.
In February 2014 Permira agreed to buy the investment manager Tilney from Deutsche Bank with the ambition of creating a wealth manager with 9 billion of assets. After completion of the deal in May 2014 Bestinvest and Tilney combined to create Tilney Bestinvest. Bestinvest remained as a separate brand focusing on execution-only investing whilst Tilney was introduced as a brand focusing on Investment Management and Financial Planning.
In 2016, on the 180th anniversary of Tilney’s formation and the 20th anniversary of Bestinvest’s existence, Tilney Bestinvest acquired Ingenious Asset Management, a London-based discretionary investment manager, taking the enlarged group to £11.2 billion of assets.
In August 2016, Tilney Bestinvest acquired the financial planning firm Towry for £600 million taking the combined business to over £20 billion of assets.
Operations
The company provides independent investment advice, discretionary investment management and financial planning services to individuals and companies, charities and other financial institutions. Available products include Individual Savings Accounts (ISA), Unit Trusts, Self-invested personal pensions (SIPP) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCT).
Services
The company’s range of services caters for clients who manage their own investments, those who require advice and those wish to have their investments managed for them. Bestinvest offer independent fund research and has expanded its execution only services through Bestinvest Select, revamped its advisory services in 2011 and developed new portfolio management services. The business manages private portfolios on behalf of its clients and offers a range of discretionary portfolio management solutions. The company also manages five multi-manager funds (IFSL Bestinvest Multi-Asset Portfolio funds). held in an Open Ended Investment Company OEIC managed by Gareth Lewis, Head of Investments.
Other services include wealth planning for private clients, mortgage-broking and general insurance offered by a subsidiary Lovat Insurance Brokers Limited.