HSBC Private Bank (UK) has launched an independent asset management service to provide execution, custody, settlement and ancillary services to boutique wealth advisors, following similar service rollouts in Switzerland, Hong Kong, Monaco, Dubai, Singapore and the Channel Islands.

The service in the UK is headed by Toby Marsh, director, and he will be joined by Nicky Eshraghi, who has worked in business development in the private client intermediary area for several years.

The launch comes at a time when new, boutique wealth advisory businesses continue to arrive, tapping into high net worth individuals’ preference for more client-centric, smaller firms; however, such businesses typically require access to best-in-class services to survive, particularly as regulatory burdens mount, as in the UK. (To view a recent article on new wealth businesses, click here).

“The market has seen an increasing number of wealthy private individuals and families turn to independent asset managers (IAMs) for their investment advice,” said Marsh in a statement today.

HSBC argues that while some private clients prefer smaller boutique advisors, they also require the fiduciary expertise and the type of segregated security that only a sizeable custodian can provide.

Early in November, HSBC launched a new discretionary investment service for portfolios of at least £150,000 ($240,304), with products covering a range of risk appetites. The Premier Investment Management Service has a suite of eight actively-managed portfolios in total.