The CEO of Omnis Investments said there has been a “cultural shift” at the firm to focus more on the needs of advisers.
After more than a year in the top job, Robert Jeffree said the firm is now more investment-led.
He said: “It has been a really exciting time for Omnis because we've got a new senior management team, and implemented a cultural shift.
“This is to be a lot more investment-led and closer to the Openwork Group and the needs of the advisers and the client.”
Omnis has more than £10bn of assets under management and works with The Openwork Partnership and 2Plan Wealth Management.
Jeffree was appointed CEO in February 2023, a promotion from the chief investment officer role he had been in since 2020.
He said it was encouragement from his colleagues that convinced him to go for the job in the first place.
“The existing CEO left, and we had a couple of people retiring so we were faced with a situation where we were thinking about whether to recruit from outside or inside,” he said.
“It was actually peer pressure, people said to me, ‘why don't you go for it?’ So I interviewed for it and the rest is history, I guess.”
Last week, the firm launched a new managed portfolio range, Omnis Agility, focusing on equities and bonds.
It has four portfolios, matched to different return targets and risk profiles.
So far it has been launched to Openwork and the firm has plans to introduce it to members of the 2Plan network.
Jeffree said this was created based on feedback from advisers who wanted to see less concentration risk in the UK.
When it comes to meeting the needs of advisers, Jeffree said he wants to be the investment manager of choice for advisers across the Openwork network.
He said: "What the advisers want to see is that we're here, and we're listening, and we're co-manufacturing alongside them, in partnership.
"We meet with advisers to understand their client needs and think about whether we can we step in and manufacture a product or service, and whether we can do it well."
Looking forward, the CEO said the main challenges for advisers was getting to grips with a raft of new regulation.
Jeffree added: "Giving advisers the tools and information they need to keep their clients informed. This is particularly important when geopolitics are volatile, because clients need that reassurance. So we're investing that area, and we're recruiting in that area to beef that up."
tara.o'connor@ft.com
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