People moves: 7IM, St. James’s Place, and Copia Capital

Wealth management firm 7IM has appointed Agustin Fernandez as chief corporate development officer and Chris Justham as chief distribution officer.

Fernandez is already a member of 7IM’s Executive Committee and has been driving the firm’s corporate development strategy since joining as managing director of corporate & strategy development in 2023. He has 20 years of experience in the financial services sector, and spent the past 15 years doing investment banking for financial institutions, leading on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions at Credit Suisse and HSBC. At 7IM, Fernandez has completed a series of acquisitions including Amicus Wealth, Eastcote Wealth Management, and Johnston Carmichael Wealth. Meanwhile, Justham will take on the newly expanded role of chief distribution officer, leading intermediary distribution teams across the firm. He has worked at 7IM since 2012, most recently as managing director, intermediary solutions, joining the executive team in 2024.

St. James’s Place (SJP) has named Chris Teschmacher as director of the CIO office.

Teschmacher, who has almost 20 years of experience in the industry, will serve as a key link between SJP’s Investment team, the Partnership and external stakeholders. He has experience across a range of asset classes and roles, and was most recently a fund manager and head of the asset allocation investment specialist team at Legal & General Asset Management. In his new role, Teschmacher will work with the CIO to help lead the development of SJP’s investment business, supporting governance, investment processes and the evolution of the firm’s investment proposition. He will also lead the development and delivery of the firm’s investment narrative.

Copia Capital has appointed Gary Stirrup as director of sales.

Stirrup will lead the sales team in growing the discretionary fund manager’s custom and off-the-shelf managed portfolio services for advised clients. He has more than 30 years of experience in financial services, spanning life assurance, platforms, asset management, discretionary sales and advisory. Stirrup was previously chief commercial officer at Ascot Lloyd and head of UK distribution at Brooks Macdonald, with earlier senior sales roles at Fidelity International and Old Mutual Wealth (now Quilter).

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