Bovill, a UK firm advising on regulatory compliance, has made a number of appointments, including the creation of a new function of chief operating officer.

Rachel Aldridge, who previously worked at FBR Capital Markets, an investment bank, has been named as COO; Francesca Bell and Andrew Garner are also joining the team.

Bell previously worked at the regulatory consulting practice of KPMG, which she joined after spending seven years at Deloitte. In his prior job, Garner worked at Brewin Dolphin, where he was head of investment management compliance.

The rising burden of compliance from new regulations is a staple diet of commentary in the wealth management industry. Some wealth management firms are spending up to half of their net profits on complying with a rising burden of regulation, with the cost standing at more than £400 million (around $628 million) in 2010, according to a recent report by ComPeer, the research firm.

At a time when regulators around the world are pushing for tighter controls on financial services, with reforms such as FATCA in the US and the UK’s Retail Distribution Review, the compliance burden is a major issue in wealth management, it said.