Acquisitive digital wealth manager Verso Wealth Management, which snapped up several Financial Planning firms last year, has appointed former Brown Shipley chief executive Alan Mathewson as group chief executive.

The industry veteran and former banker will also join the Verso Group Board.

Mr Mathewson has held several senior positions in financial services and wealth management in a 30-year career, most recently as a senior adviser at Bridgepoint. 

He spent four years as chief executive of Brown Shipley, the UK subsidiary of Quintet Private Bank overseeing the firm's AUM growth from £6.5bn to £10bn.

Before that, he spent more than 20 years in senior leadership roles at Santander, most recently as managing director of wealth management and private banking, where he led Santander’s move into the UK wealth management market, including the launch of its digital investment channel.

The company said the move follows the planned restructuring of Verso’s executive team to support the next phase of its strategic growth plan.

The company spent much of 2022 acquiring Financial Planning firms around the country, including West Midlands Heritage Independent Financial Advisers and Sussex-based IEP Financial in December.

It completed a total of five acquisitions last year, including four Financial Planning and wealth management firms.

It acquired Pavis Financial Management in January, CDC Wealth Management in March and Campbell Thomson Insurance Services in August, as well as its two December acquisitions. 

Simon Redgrove, managing director at Verso, said the firm expects to make more acquisitions this year.

Mr Mathewson said: “I am passionate about modernising wealth management – and am delighted to lead Verso Wealth Management on the next stage of its development. I have led major strategic refreshes at both Brown Shipley and Santander which were transformative for the respective businesses. 

“I will draw on this experience to ensure the Verso Wealth proposition remains compelling and that we continue to attract new firms to the portfolio and grow both our AUM and profitability.” 

Andrew Fay and Simon Redgrove, Verso’s co-founders, will continue to be actively involved, leading the firm’s distribution and acquisition strategy as members of the Verso Group Board.

They will also have oversight of other strategic initiatives, working in partnership with the executive team to ensure their company meets its growth targets. 

Mt Fay, said: “Our firm is growing rapidly – in the last 18 months, we have established the Verso proposition and platform, partnered with five Financial Planning firms, achieving geographic coverage across the UK and an AUM of £1.8bn.

“As we are very aware of what is planned for the next phase of our growth, we feel the time is right to expand and strengthen our executive team.”