Guardian Wealth Management, the Dubai-based advisory group founded by David Howell and John Hasberry more than 20 years ago in the UK, has opened its first US outpost, with an office in Miami’s Brickell financial district.
GWM’s move into Miami generally and the Brickell district in particular comes just four months after it was revealed that the deVere Group was to close its Miami office, originally opened in 2011, as part of a corporate restructuring of its business.
Nathan Tarr, who has been named to head up the new GWM Miami operation – which initially will consist of a team of seven – is one of several GWM Miami staffers who previously were with the deVere operation, according to a GWM spokesperson.
The spokesperson added that the new office, which is GWM’s “first-ever office in the US”, represented “the next step in GWM’s global expansion programme”.
American clients
Guardian Wealth Management’s US operation will look after Americans as well as expatriates, Tarr said, adding that the company’s move into the market was coming at “a very exciting time”.
“The US business market is arguably the largest in the world, but also one of the most difficult,” Tarr added.
“It takes time to get it right. However, within weeks of opening, we have seen massive demand across all the states.
We will be providing holistic financial advice, ensuring we meet all of [our clients’] planning needs as they move through their working lifespan, into retirement.”
Tarr noted that in particular, there is “an overwhelming demand from clients in the US market for [pensions] advice”, particularly from expats of various nationalities who have spent time living and working in the UK, and who struggle to get sound advice in a market which isn’t really set up for such cross-border clients.
GWM managing director Gavin Pluck also reported “significant positive feedback” since the office has been in place, and that he was looking forward to working with GWM’s Miami team to build the company’s American business.
Guardian Wealth has been expanding at a steady rate over the past two years, during which it has also made some changes and additions to its business model, including the creation earlier this year of a new corporate services business designed to address what it said was an un-met demand in the Gulf region.
Last year it unveiled a new FCA-authorised business under the GWM Investment Management name, to target UK-based, high-net-worth clients, out of offices in London’s upmarket Mayfair district. That office is headed up by Chris Payne, formerly of Aspinalls, a London family office.
In addition to its Dubai headquarters, the new Miami office and the London office, GWM has offices in Geneva, Switzerland; Abu Dhabi; and Doncaster, England. It looks after more than £800m in client assets on behalf of more than 10,000 international clients, according to its website.
