Macquarie Banking and Financial Services Group Appoints UK Head

20 February 2008

Macquarie Banking and Financial Services Group today announced it has appointed Executive Director, Jason Huddy, as Head of its UK business.

Mr Huddy will be responsible for building Macquarie Banking and Financial Services Group’s operation, leveraging the Group’s experience, product and service offerings in Australia.

Mr Huddy said Macquarie had been looking at the retail and institutional financial services markets in the UK for a few years now, assessing market needs and the services that could add value to financial advisers (IFAs) and institutions.

“The notable growth in the service-based financial advice market, together with the growing need for individuals to engage in ongoing, quality advice, has been particularly interesting to us, so too the pace and direction of regulatory change,” Mr Huddy said.

“The Macquarie Banking and Financial Services Group established a small team in the UK more than 12 months ago.  This team have been speaking with financial advisers and fund managers to best understand the current opportunities open to them. 

“My appointment is stepping-up our commitment to evolving our UK product and service set to help them meet these opportunities. Client consultation is a key priority for us at this point. 

“The success of our adviser product and service business in Australia has been achieved largely via ongoing dialogue with our clients, understanding their needs and seeking their opinions before we implemented any change or addition to our products or services.  As a result, our offering to IFAs supports their business growth and service delivery to their clients.”

Macquarie Banking and Financial Services Group's Head of International, Alan Corr, said having someone as experienced as Jason Huddy on the ground in the UK would be a great advantage as Macquarie grows its business here and works with advisers to develop and deliver mutually beneficial products and services.
 
"We have taken the time to get to know the market and to understand what could enhance IFA businesses and deliver valuable solutions for investors. We are now ready to take our business to the next level," Mr Corr said.
 
Mr Huddy has most recently been the Head of Adviser Sales and Marketing for Macquarie’s Adviser Services business in Australia, managing the distribution of Macquarie’s investment services and products to IFAs throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Huddy also played an instrumental role in the formation and growth of the Macquarie Wrap Platform business in Australia, which has for several years been one of the fastest growing platforms in the country, servicing over 2,500 IFAs in Australia and during 2007 receiving the equivalent of GBP2.5 billion in funds flow from advisers and their clients.

During his time in with Macquarie Adviser Services, Mr Huddy was also involved in the acquisition, growth and development of the Coin financial planning software business, which is one of the largest and most successful planning software platforms in Australia.

Irene O’Brien,
Public Relations,                                                         Tel: 61 2 8232 3241
Macquarie Banking and Financial Services Group     Mob: 61 417 260 309

Laura Bramwell
Public Relations                                                          Tel: 61 2 8232 3835
Macquarie Banking and Financial Services Group     Mob: 61 415 648 622

Karen Smith                                                               Tel: 44 20 7065 2420
Public Relations                                                         Mob 44 7917 081 541
Macquarie Group Europe