Wealth manager Smith and Williamson has hired Nick Murphy as head of charities for its investment management and banking division.

In his new role Mr Murphy will work closely with investment managers within the group to raise the firm’s profile.

He joined Smith & Williamson as a partner in the investment management team in 2012 and has built up a client base of charity portfolios, as well as other client types.

David Cobb, co-chief executive at Smith & Williamson, said: “Investing in our charities business forms an important part of our growth strategy. We are confident that Nick will help us achieve our ambitions by ensuring close coordination between our designated charity investment managers in London and the regional offices along with our business development team.”

Mr Murphy added: “We have an enormous opportunity to grow our charities business over the coming years and I am excited to be leading a team that will always put our clients first. Attracting new, talented senior members to Smith & Williamson and nurturing the next generation of advisers will be a key priority in my new role to ensure we keep pace with our expansion plans.”

Smith & Williamson’s fund management arm also announced recently that it is set to launch an actively managed, global artificial intelligence fund in June.