Tilney Smith & Williamson announces senior appointment in host ACD and fund administration business

Tilney Smith & Williamson, the leading wealth management and professional services group, has announced the appointment of Neil Williams as Head of Business Development for its host ACD and fund administration business.

Neil has over 35 years’ financial services experience working in the asset management, transfer agency and the hosted Authorised Corporate Director (ACD) sectors. He joins Tilney Smith & Williamson from FNZ’s transfer agency business where he was a director. Prior to FNZ Neil was Head of Relationship Management at Capita Financial Managers where he supported the ACD function and was responsible for over 50 client relationships, both hosted and third party. He also spent 23 years with Baring Asset Management working for its financial services group division, International Fund Managers UK Limited (IFMUK).

Tilney Smith & Williamson’s host ACD and fund administration business offers a full-service fund administration solution for UK collective investment schemes. It takes full regulatory responsibility for the establishment and ongoing servicing of the funds to which it acts as the ACD or equivalent. The business supports 12 fund sponsors, as well as around 40 investment managers, providing in-house host ACD / Authorised Fund Manager (AFM) and fund administration services to c£10bn assets under management across 134 funds.

James Gordon, Chief Executive of Tilney Smith & Williamson’s host ACD and fund administration business commented: “I am delighted to welcome Neil to the team. His extensive experience and established relationships within the ACD sector and broader asset management industry will be hugely beneficial to us as we continue to grow our business.

“As investment propositions continue to evolve through the use of fund structures, the role of host ACDs is likely to grow. With their numerous benefits, including the efficiencies of such solutions, we believe fund structures will be further utilised. I look forward to working closely with Neil to ensure that our services remain front and centre of fund and investment managers’ minds when they are considering an experienced entity to provide them with a trusted host ACD.”

Neil Williams added: “I am delighted to have joined Tilney Smith & Williamson to further support and enhance the continued roll out of service offerings. With a strong brand and commitment from the group to invest it will enable us to gain momentum to grow the hosted ACD/fund administration services. Together, with the recent developments in the hosted ACD market we are very well positioned to provide the expertise and knowledge expected in this field of the industry.”