The Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers is having a re-brand, calling itself the Wealth Management Association.

The Association of Private Client Investment Managers and
Stockbrokers, the trade group with 178 firms of which 114 members are wealth
management and stockbroking firms, is having a re-brand, calling itself the
Wealth Management Association.

APCIMS proposes to adopt the new name if members approve
this change at the organisation’s annual general meeting on 1 October.

The move comes at a time when industry organisations remain
numerous, reflecting the constant shifts in the financial services sector; the
re-brand of APCIMS also highlights how the profile of wealth management as a
distinct business area has risen. The UK’s new financial watchdog, the
Financial Conduct Authority, now has a wealth management unit. (To view a
recent comment on such trade associations, click here.)

Having commissioned independent research with its
membership, APCIMS has received certification for a new trademark and the
rights to the name ‘Wealth Management Association’.

A recent report from the Centre for the Study of Financial
Innovation noted that trade associations are now more likely to be defined by
the services their members provide, rather than the kinds of institutions they
represent, a statement from APCIMS said.

APCIMS membership has for some time extended well beyond
investment managers and stockbrokers; it also includes as members the private
banks, discretionary fund managers and other financial firms who undertake the
activity collectively known as wealth management, it said.

“The member research undertaken for us earlier this year
showed a clear desire to change the way in which APCIMS is presented and
perceived. This proposed move answers general industry developments and the
recent changes at the Financial Conduct Authority with the launch of its Wealth
Management and Private Banking Unit,” Dr Tim May, chief executive at APCIMS,
said.

“This is a great move that better reflects what APCIMS and
their membership represents. The new name - Wealth Management Association -
will now be perceived by the public and policymakers for what it really is: the
body that represents the interests of all investors across the UK’s wealth
management landscape,” Charlotte Black, head of corporate affairs at Brewin
Dolpin, a member of the organisation, said.