eFinancialCareers

Investment managers in Scotland not convinced by the attraction of the big institutions might want to consider law firms as an alternative.

This unlikely route into investment management is booming north of the border, as the traditional role of the Scottish solicitor – a man of business involved in clients’ financial affairs – has evolved into a multi-million pound industry.

“Investment management within law firms is particularly well developed in Scotland,” says a spokesperson for the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers. Similarly, the members’ list of the Association of Solicitors and Investment Managers shows a large Scottish presence.

Scottish law firm Turcan Connell is one of the bigger players, boasting £500m in assets under management. Another significant Scots solicitor is Murray Beith Murray, which has £250m in AUM. Other Scottish lawyers involved in investment management include Anderson Strathern, Blackadders, Gillespie McAndrew, Lindsays, and Wright, Johnson & MacKenzie, though their AUM is significantly smaller.

Alex Montgomery, partner and head of investment management at Turcan Connell, says one of the appeals of working for a law firm is the breadth of work on offer: “All of our investment managers have client facing responsibilities and they are the key person to investigate, research and analyse their particular area of expertise.”

The firm has 10 experienced investment managers and has taken on three graduate trainees this year. The team is a mix of trained lawyers, those who started their career at the firm and those who made the switch from bigger institutions.

“We make a point of having people with a mix of experience in our collective,” says Montgomery. “One of the guys who joined us from an institution thinks it’s fantastic as he had very little client contact there.”

What about money? Montgomery wouldn’t be drawn on specifics, but said: “We pay the staying rate, not the going rate. We believe the future of our business is driven by people and have to pay the right rate to attract and retain them.”

Still, the current players are relative minnows compared to one investment manager that spun out of a law firm. Baillie Gifford has £52bn in AUM, and operates as a partnership of 30 senior executives – a structure that harks back to its establishment as a law firm over a century ago.