Blackfinch Group appoints Nicholas French as Chief Distribution Officer

Legal & Professional

By Nicky Godding

19 January 2023

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Blackfinch Group, an award-winning investment manager and tax efficient solutions provider, is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicholas French as its new Chief Distribution Officer. Nick brings over 25 years’ experience to Blackfinch, following a 3-year tenure with Marlborough Group as Head of Adviser Solutions and CEO of the Select Platform. He previously spent over 12 years at Russell Investments where he was Managing Director. He has also been involved in Consulting, mergers and acquisitions and had various roles at Zurich and Skandia Life (Old Mutual) throughout his career.

The move comes as Jerry Prices stands down from the position after many successful years of service with the group.

Nicholas said: “I’m excited to be joining Blackfinch at such an important time. With the new Consumer Duty requirements adapting our outlook on advice, and government legislative changes putting tax thresholds within the reality of increasing amounts of society, we have the opportunity to show advisers that by combining investment and tax planning solutions even more we can help adviser businesses continue to thrive over the coming years.”

Richard Cook, CEO at Blackfinch Group, added: “I am absolutely delighted Nick has joined so we can accelerate our ambitious growth plans. The range of tax and investment solutions offered by Blackfinch means we are ideally positioned to support advisers as the world of financial advice continues to change. It is my belief that Nick’s experience in strategically supporting adviser businesses to evolve and increase their value multiples over time significantly enhances the overall Blackfinch proposition. I look forward to sharing our plans with advisers in the coming months. I would also like to place on record my thanks to Jerry for his crucial role in the establishment and growth of the Group over the last 10 years.”

Blackfinch Group has grown extensively in recently years. Recent expansions across the energy, ventures and property teams have enabled them to evolve the scale of investments being made and adapt the proposition they offer financial advisers around the UK. The business recognises that today, more than ever in the current fiscal environment, there is a greater need to provide advisers with tax-efficient solutions and investment strategies to support their continued drive to ever more holistic advice.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.