Lowes Group, the Newcastle headquartered IFA and investment management firm, which specialises in structured products, is expanding its investment proposition.

The first step of the expansion plans was revealed this week with the appointment of Kimberley Campbell as head of intermediary distribution. 

Ms Campbell was brought in by the group specifically to help grow the investment management side of the business.

She will begin by promoting the MI Diversified Strategy Fund (a long term growth fund), the Lowes UK Defined Strategy Fund (an OEIC which invests in a variety of structured products, including institutional offers otherwise unavailable to retail investors) as well as the firm’s structured product co-operations and innovations, such as the Mariana 10:10 plans and the Investec / Lowes 8:8 plans, designed in collaboration between those companies and Lowes.

She has 15 years of sales and team-building experience, most recently as head of IFA distribution and head of wealth business development specialists at Vitality Invest, and prior to that partnership development consultant with Zurich.

The firm says her role is to “raise awareness of and implement the distribution of the group’s investment solutions”. 

Lowes Group managing director, Ian Lowes, said: “Lowes has an experienced, in-house Investment management team, which has been running portfolios for nearly 45 years.

“In addition, our 20-plus years of researching and investing in structured products, calling out the market when it warrants it, gives us an expertise that we believe cannot be matched by any other firm.

“We are using that expertise in the UK Defined Strategy Fund, in our collaborations with leading structured product manufacturers, as well as in the publishing of a list of Lowes ‘Preferred’ Plans, our choice of individual products, which we use in the portfolios of Lowes Financial Management clients.

“The appointment of Kimberley reinforces our commitment to taking that expertise out to the wider markets, opening it up to networks, nationals, discretionary wealth and fund managers as well as to individual financial advice firms.”

Ms Campbell said: “The Lowes range of investment solutions draws on the group’s many years of experience in the market.

“Lowes is recognised in particular as the foremost independent specialist in retail structured products available to the financial advice market.

“I believe what Lowes has to offer is genuinely different in the market and its structured product expertise in particular offers considerable benefit for advisers, discretionary firms and their clients.

“I will be flying the Lowes flag, highlighting the current products, building a distribution team and creating the groundwork for development of future products we can make available to the wealth management and advice markets.”