At what is a busy time of hiring for the group, London-headquartered Sanlam Private Investments UK, part of South Africa’s Sanlam Group, has appointed Robert Merrifield as head of investment management in its Sevenoaks office, Kent.

At what is a busy time of hiring for the group, London-headquartered Sanlam Private Investments UK, part of South Africa’s Sanlam Group, has appointed Robert Merrifield as head of investment management in its Sevenoaks office, Kent.

Merrifield, who will lead the 13-strong investment management team, has worked at Morgan Stanley Quilter and Ashcourt Rowan. His latest position was at Legal and General where he led the fund manager selection team and was responsible for relationships with distribution partners and managing a range of fund of funds models.

The firm also appointed Lee Clark to head up a satellite operation in Eastbourne, East Sussex, which is part of its ongoing strategy to build up its presence on the south coast, it said in a statement.

Clark, who has a personal franchise with professional connections along the south coast up to Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks, joins from Arbuthnot Latham where he was a chartered financial planner.  A key part of his remit will be to target trustees, partners and the directors of businesses, both pre- and post-retirement, it said.

This announcement comes only a week after the wealth manager announced the opening of a fourth office in the North of England, adding Teesside to the existing cluster of offices in Harrogate, Newcastle and Kirkby Lonsdale. At the same time it appointed a further five new investment managers in the North: Sheila Tindle, Stephen Richardson, John Pearson, Mark McMullan and Helen Johnson.

To view an interview by this publication with Craig Massey, the chief executive of SPI, see here. To see recent moves, click here.

“This is a very exciting time for us in terms of both recruitment and expansion. We have ambitious plans to increase our regional footprint in the UK but it is a key component of our philosophy to be uncompromising in our search for talented investment professionals who will best serve the interests of our clients,” Massey said of the latest developments.

Sanlam Private Investments offers wealth management solutions for high net worth individuals and their families, trusts, charities and businesses. These solutions include wealth management, investment management, stockbroking and offshore services.

SPI UK had assets under management of £1.9 billion as of the end of 2013. Its associate company Sanlam Securities UK specialises in corporate finance, corporate broking and institutional research for small and mid-cap companies. Its parent Sanlam Private Investments is headquartered in Cape Town. The combined SPI team comprises 400 people across 23 international offices, with some £10 billion assets under management (as at April 2013).