Sarasin & Partners has appointed Tom Vernon as head of its Private Clients team.

Vernon succeeds Jamie Black, who has held the role for over 20 years and will remain with the firm as a senior partner, managing his client relationships and as a director of subsidiary Sarasin Asset Management. Vernon joined Sarasin & Partners in 2006 and is responsible for managing portfolios for a range of the firm’s UK and international private clients and charities. He is also a member of the firm’s Investment Strategy Group, which oversees Sarasin & Partners’ long-term thematic investment approach. As head of the Private Client team, Vernon will focus on maintaining and enhancing the firm’s standards of client service and investment expertise.

Schroders has made two appointments to its value investment team.

Graham Shircore has been appointed as a UK-focused investment analyst. He brings more than 20 years of equity investment experience to the role, most recently as investment team leader overseeing a long-term, value-driven investment philosophy at Phoenix Asset Management Partners. His previous experience also includes tenures at Rothschild & Co and Aviva Investors. Shircore will join Schroders in early September. Meanwhile, Steve Woolley will also join Schroders as a UK-focused investment analyst in November, bringing 17 years of value investment experience to the role. Most recently, Woolley was head of research on Ninety One’s value equities team, having also been a portfolio manager focused on value during his time with the firm.

Fairlight Capital Partners has appointed Mikkel Bates as senior board adviser.

Bates’ appointment aims to support the firm’s goal of bringing differentiated investment strategies to the UK professional investor and wealth management markets. Fairlight Capital Partners recently launched in the UK through a strategic partnership with Bowmoor Capital. Bates has more than 40 years of experience in financial services, with expertise in regulation, marketing and product development across both retail and institutional markets. Most recently, he was regulatory manager at FE Fundinfo, advising clients on fund marketing requirements. Earlier in his career, Bates was head of institutional and wholesale marketing at Société Générale Asset Management, and was a co-founder and head of marketing at Castle Trust Capital.

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