Who are we?

“The name may be new to some, but Bordier & Cie (UK) PLC is the product of a long relationship between a contemporary British boutique and a grand old Swiss bank. While an understated approach is common to both the British and the Swiss characters, Bordier UK manages to differentiate itself through a combination of the best elements of European and British investment management: an assured, yet uncomplicated investment solution; clear and transparent communications in all languages – performance, fees or investment thinking; with an objective to enhance performance through both operational efficiency but also hard work and investment savvy. Most importantly, Bordier UK has a GBP performance history to support the lineage of its namesake.” Source: Asset Risk Consultants (ARC)

Bordier & Cie (UK) PLC can trace its London history back to 1981, when Berry Asset Management was established by Jamie Berry.

The Bordier Group formed a strategic alliance with Berry when it acquired a stakeholding in 2001. Since then, the relationship has deepened and broadened significantly. In September 2014 the firm changed its name.

Bordier UK focuses on providing investment management services. Our clients include private clients, trustees, personal pensions, charities and City livery companies.

Several key characteristics set us apart from many of our competitors:

  • We concentrate on investment management
  • We have no in house products to sell
  • We have a clear and competitive pricing structure
  • We submit portfolio performance to Asset Risk Consultants (ARC)
  • We have our principals’ money invested alongside our clients
  • We are part of the Bordier Group, which is directed by three Managing Partners who carry
    unlimited liability

Explore our website. It will tell you about us and how we invest and look after our clients. If you like what we say, contact us and we can arrange to meet.

Jamie Berry

Jamie Berry – Chairman

Key facts and figures

As part of the Bordier Group, Bordier UK has access to more than 179 years of investment experience, and with the Bordier Group having 11 offices in six countries across three continents, we are a member of a truly global business.

  • Profitability

    The Bordier Group has held financial records of its profitability since 1844 and has not had a trading loss since 1950.

    Very few financial services companies could say the same.

  • Basel III Common Equity Tier 1 ratio

    The Common Equity Tier 1 (‘CET1’) ratio is a key indicator of the strength of a firm’s financial position.

    The Bordier Group has maintained a stable CET1 ratio of around 25% over the last decade. Compared with most other financial institutions, this highlights a degree of financial strength considerably above the average.

    Bordier Group CET1 ratio: 35.0% (30 June 2023)

  • Cost/income ratio

    Profitability over the short, medium and long term is a fundamental criterion for top-flight financial services companies regardless of where they are located.

    Cost/income ratios are often scrutinised by analysts to assess cost and profitability management across a particular sector. Financial services companies worldwide that consistently post cost/income ratios between 70% and 80% are regarded as being outstandingly well managed.

    We believe it is important to generate a profit year in, year out. The Bordier Group’s cost/income ratio has been running well below the market average for the past 30 years, showcasing our prudent, skilful and efficient management over the long term.

    Bordier Group cost/income ratio: 68.3% (31 December 2022)

  • Liquidity

    Liquidity ratios will always be viewed as one of the key solvency indicators of any financial institution. Most financial services companies aim to operate with a ‘buffer‘ above their required solvency ratio, perhaps 0.5 to 2 times higher.

    Since the introduction of new liquidity rules by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority in 2015, the Bordier Group’s liquidity ratio has remained between 3 to 15 times higher than the required level.

    Some might regard the Bordier Group’s level of solvency cushion as excessive; we consider it rather as prudent, sensible and in our clients’ best interests.

    Bordier Group liquidity ratio: 1,226.0% (30 June 2023)

Our core values

We are committed to providing the highest standards of service and investment management solutions to our clients. Our core values are central to our business and our relationships. It is how we do business with each other, our clients and their trusted advisers.

  • Expertise

    Our investment team is both expert and experienced and our clients therefore benefit from an investment capability which matches that offered by the largest asset management firms, but coupled with the greater care and attention that a smaller, independent firm is able to offer. Our senior investment managers typically have more than 30 years’ investment experience and have spent significant parts of their careers working for major institutions including Skandia, Invesco, HSBC, Close Brothers, UBS and Cazenove. Our team has been through several stock market cycles, learning valuable lessons and insight to the behaviour of assets in a wide variety of market conditions. This experience is vital in negotiating what is still one of the most challenging periods in economic and stockmarket history.

    We cannot influence market sentiment, but we can provide our clients with the certainty that we have the expertise and long experience to guide them through challenging times.

  • Transparency

    We are open and fair in all of our dealings with clients and also our own colleagues, always seeking to work in a completely transparent and honest manner. We measure our performance against independent benchmarks and our formal valuation reports have won industry awards for quality and clarity. Our fee structure is straightforward and easy to understand with no hidden charges.

  • Service quality

    We marry a contemporary approach to managing money with the old fashioned values of high quality client service. Our clients delegate to us the responsibility to manage their investments, and we never forget that we are entrusted with their hard earned capital. Effective communication is one of the most important aspects of our service. We understand the need to provide advisers and clients with accurate and understandable information about their investment portfolio, in a timely manner. This enables the client or adviser to make informed choices about investment performance (both recent and historic) and whether or not the agreed objectives and aspirations are being satisfied.

Our corporate responsibility

Creating a sustainable future

For over 179 years the Bordier Group has remained committed to safeguarding and growing the wealth and assets entrusted to us and to passing these on to future generations.

This ethos of sustainability is applied to all aspects of our business and we recognise that preserving the environment is an integral part of building a better tomorrow for you and your family.

SolarStratos

In 2022, we became a proud official sponsor of SolarStratos – a pioneering expedition to the edge of space demonstrating the power of solar energy for a sustainable tomorrow.

By partnering with the SolarStratos expedition, we are continuing our commitment to protecting the planet for the future by promoting a renewable energy source as a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Raphaël Domjan, pilot and founder of the mission, on Bordier’s decision to partner alongside SolarStratos: “Faced with the climate emergency, we need to boost our scope to innovate and demonstrate a pioneering spirit. The entire SolarStratos team is delighted to share their values with the Partners and employees of the Bordier group.”

SolarStratos is an adventure led by SolarXplorers SA. It’s mission, launched in 2014 by Swiss eco-explorer and pilot of the aircraft Raphae?l Domjan, is to perform the first ever manned, solar-powered flight into the stratosphere, which will last around six hours. To make this feat possible and limit the weight of the aircraft, the aircraft will not be pressurised, and instead its pilot will wear a pressurised astronaut suit, powered only by solar energy – also a world first.

SolarStratos is intent on demonstrating that by using currently available technologies, it can perform amazing feats exceeding the potential of fossil fuels to fly at high altitudes, to where no electric or solar-powered aircraft has gone before.

As well as spearheading innovations, SolarStratos aims to promote solar energy and electrification of our society as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and shielding our environment from the effects of climate change.

Previous sponsorships

In 2017 we started to explore how we could extend our vision of a sustainable future to the furthest reaches of the globe, and in January 2018 we became a main sponsor of the ‘Under The Pole’ international expedition, working to preserve our oceans and our planet for generations to come.

The planet’s oceans are a pivotal natural resource: serving as climate regulators, carbon wells and fishing resources which represent the main source of animal protein for approximately one billion people. Nonetheless, it’s estimated that we have only explored 5% of our oceans and that 90% of subsea species are yet to be discovered.

In becoming an official sponsor of the ‘Under The Pole’ III Twilight Zone expedition in 2018, the Bordier Group made a responsible and sustainable commitment to improving knowledge of the deep-sea environment and the challenges arising from climate change.

Launched in 2010, ‘Under The Pole’ was a fully-fledged business venture, and has gathered more than 100 experts into an interdisciplinary team – from divers, sailors and scientists to mechanics, engineers, photographers, cameramen and doctors. Over three years, they explored the Earth’s oceans, starting in the Arctic Ocean before transiting via the Pacific to the Antarctic, and then finally to the Atlantic.

The objective was to participate in a better understanding of the underwater world by studying the impact of global warming on the oceans, with exploration focusing on the so-called ‘Twilight Zone’ – sea beds situated between 50 and 150 metres below the surface level – and about which relatively little is known.

In the office

Closer to home, we continually seek out ways to reduce our carbon footprint, making changes in the knowledge that even the smallest action can still play a part in influencing the outcome of climate change.

‘The single raindrop never feels responsible for the flood.’ Douglas Adams
  • All our valuations are digital, unless paper versions are specifically requested. We discourage printing (particularly in colour) where practical, only using paper from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) approved suppliers.
  • We use refillable glass bottles of water in all meeting rooms and encourage as much recycling as possible, including the recycling of computer hardware through approved vendors.
  • We offer a bike-to-work scheme and provide showers and changing facilities, making it easy for our team to participate. We also encourage the use of video conferencing/Skype for Business where possible to reduce business travel.
Giving back

We strive to make a meaningful impact in our community and pride ourselves in supporting causes where we can see first-hand the positive difference our work has achieved.

Our dedicated, employee led, Charity Committee arranges a variety of fundraising events, actively inviting our team to nominate charities of personal significance to benefit.

Through this and other firm-wide events, our team are encouraged and empowered to continually engage with those in need, whenever they can, ensuring that as firm we remain committed to helping others.

‘Habit is a cable; we weave a thread each day, and at last we cannot break it’ Horace Mann

Read more about some of the different projects undertaken by our staff below.

Our ‘Operation Bordier Bag Drop’ initiative is designed to help some of the 8,000 homeless individuals living in London. The project enables our team to sponsor, assemble and distribute eco-friendly cotton bags containing a range of essential items to those living rough in our office locale. This unique project, undertaken entirely by staff, proved such a success it has been replicated and met with continued positive reception.

Leading by example our CEO, Jamie MacLeod, and his friend Lieutenant Colonel Nick Woolgar, kayaked 97 miles of the famous and temperamental River Tweed over six days, from source to mouth. The challenge was undertaken in support of the Veterans Aid, a charity which has been helping ex-servicemen and women in crisis since 1932 – in particular those at risk of ending up homeless or sleeping rough – raising over £60,000 to date.

A Bordier Group-wide initiative, the ‘Running for Good’ project encourages employees to participate in seasonal running, swimming and cycling events around the world. With the mantra ‘The more you run, the more good you do’, funds are donated to charity based on the number of kilometres covered.

In 2018, Bordier employees walked, ran and swam a total of 1,073 kilometres, raising over £12,700. The funds raised were donated equally between two deserving charities; the Riding for the Disabled Association and Veterans Aid.

Over the course of four intense days, dedicated staff helped transform the gardens of two houses run by Centrepoint, a charity that provides housing and support for young homeless people across the UK. The gardens provide a place for house meetings and a relaxing environment for the young people to enjoy. The project enabled staff to meet some of the young people staying at the houses, based in North London, together with Centrepoint staff to learn more about the charity.

Key contacts

Directors

Gregoire Bordier

Grégoire Bordier
Non-Executive Director, Bordier Partner
[email protected]

Grégoire started his career as an investment analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities in New York, after which he spent several years with Credit Suisse First Boston. He attained his MBA from Dartmouth College, USA in 1994 and became a partner of Bordier & Cie in 1997. In 2001 he joined the board of Bordier UK as a non-executive director.

Jamie MacLeod

Jamie MacLeod
Chief Executive Officer

Jamie has over 35 years’ experience in the investment management industry and has been a Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of leading investment firms for over 25 years. Having started his career at Laurentian Life/Unit Trust Management in 1986, Jamie joined Scottish Widows Fund Management (SWFM) in 1990 and in 1997, aged 29, went on to become Managing Director at SWFM and Head of Global Business and Client Services for Scottish Widows Investment Management (Scottish Widows Institutional Business).

In 1999 he joined Investec Asset Management where he was the Head of UK and European Retail Business and Managing Director of Investec Fund Managers and Investec Management Limited as well as a member of the Global Executive. In June 2002 he joined Skandia Group and founded Skandia Investment Management as CEO. In 2007 he went on to form Skandia Investment Group, the company’s £50bn, 17 country investment management organisation, which he led as CEO. He also served on the Global Executive Management Board of Skandia Group.

He joined and acquired 20% of Bordier UK (then called Berry Asset Management) in September 2010 as CEO and became a member of the Group Executive team with Bordier & Cie, the 178-year-old Swiss private bank, that is the majority shareholder of Bordier UK.

Jamie is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments (MCSI), has an MBA from De Montfort University (1992 – 1994) and has attended Harvard Business School’s TGMP. In 2011, Jamie was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from De Montfort University.

Jamie was previously a member of the T Rowe Price Investment Services Advisory Board for a number of years.

Jamie Berry

Jamie Berry
Executive Chairman
07483 047490
[email protected]

With more than 50 years’ investment experience, Jamie joined the international fund management group GT Management in 1973 as a UK portfolio manager. From 1977 to 1981 he was managing director of GT’s unit trust subsidiary. In 1981 he established Berry Asset Management, which forged a strategic alliance with Bordier & Cie in 2000, and subsequently changed its name to Bordier UK in 2014.

In 2008, Jamie was voted Spear’s Wealth Manager of the Year and in 2012 he was voted #1 in the Citywire Nifty Fifty Wealth Manager Index. Jamie is now Executive Chairman of Bordier UK and concentrates on managing client portfolios.

Mark Robinson

Mark Robinson
Chief Investment Officer
[email protected]

Mark has more than 35 years’ experience in the financial services industry, over 25 of which have been with Bordier UK. From 1986 to 1993 Mark was employed at Touche Remnant, working in the Private Client department. In 1993 he joined John Scott & Partners as their Investment Director and in 1995 joined Bordier UK. Mark is a director of the company and is the Chief Investment Officer, overseeing the firm’s investment strategy and research capabilities. Mark is an Associate member of the CFA Society of the UK (CFA UK).

Ian Heap

Ian Heap
Investment Director and Director of Portfolio Management
07483 047491
[email protected]

Ian joined Close Brothers plc in 2002 from a large IFA group where he managed private client portfolios in the wealth management division. He joined Bordier UK in 2005 and is a director of the company and member of the Investment Committee. He is a Chartered FCSI for the Securities and Investment Institute and holds both the Financial Planning Certificate (FPC) and Securities Institute Diploma (MSi Dip). In March 2014, Ian was named one of PAM’s Top 40 under 40s for 2014.

Anthony Clewlow, Chief Operating Officer

Anthony Clewlow
Chief Operating Officer
[email protected]

Anthony is an experienced information technology professional with a strong background of driving efficiencies through bespoke software development and project management. After graduating in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in Physics, Anthony spent over 10 years at Electronic Data System before joining Bordier UK in 2009 as a Software Development Manager. Anthony became the Director of IT in 2017 and subsequently Chief Operating Officer and a director of the company in 2021. He is the Data Protection representative for Bordier UK, ensuring the firm’s compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and is also a member of the Operational Risk Committee.

Other key contacts

Tom Cairns

Tom Cairns
Investment Director
07483 047496
[email protected]

Tom started his investment career with James Capel Investment Management in 1996, which latterly became HSBC Investment Management. At HSBC he specialised in managing private client portfolios for high net worth individuals. Tom joined Bordier UK in 2004 and is an Investment Director and member of the Investment Committee. Tom is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.

Susan Dixon

Susan Dixon
Head of Client Services
[email protected]

After graduating from St Anne’s College, University of Oxford, in 2009 with a degree in Modern History, Susan began her career at Bordier UK in 2010. She has worked in the Operations and Client Services teams and was promoted to Head of Client Services in 2016. In 2021, Susan became an Associate Director of Bordier UK. Susan specialises in client and adviser queries relating to all matters apart from the investment of client funds. Susan holds the Investment Management Certificate.

Hugo Docx

Hugo Docx
Investment Director
07483 047497
[email protected]

Having graduated with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nottingham, Hugo joined Bordier UK in 2015 as a member of the Portfolio Management Team. Hugo has been a member of the Investment Committee since 2017 and holds both the Investment Management Certificate and Investment Advice Diploma (IAD).

Mark Duggan, Director of Sales & Marketing

Mark Duggan
Director of Sales and Marketing
[email protected]

Mark has over 20 years’ experience within the financial services industry, having spent time at Charles Stanley & Co. Limited and Zurich Intermediary Group before joining Bordier UK in 2021 as Director of Sales and Marketing. Mark is heading up the team responsible for the development of Bordier UK’s growing network of relationships with financial advisers, lawyers, and accountants, and for building on the firm’s existing provider partnerships. He works closely with the professional adviser community, helping them to better understand how discretionary investment managers can help to enhance their businesses in terms of client acquisition and satisfaction, and market position. Mark is a CII Chartered Financial Planner, CISI Member and SLA Accredited.

Dipesh Mesuria
Head of Fund Research
[email protected]

Dipesh has worked at a number of prestigious asset management firms such as F&C, Schroders and BlackRock. After which he moved across to private wealth management, working at Coutts. Dipesh joined Bordier UK in 2012 as a Senior Research Analyst and was subsequently promoted to an Associate Director and Head of Fund Research. He is a member of the Research team with specific focus on investment strategy, research and model construction. He is also a voting member of the Investment Committee, responsible for both top-down macro and bottom-up micro asset allocation across all asset classes and sectors. Dipesh is a Chartered Member of the Securities Institute, holds the Investment Management Certificate and is a level three CFA candidate.

Robin Perry

Robin Perry
Investment Director
07483 047492
[email protected]

Robin joined Bordier UK in 2019 as an Investment Director and member of the Investment Committee. He has over 30 years’ experience in managing portfolios for high-net-worth individuals having worked previously at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management, Barclays Wealth and Schroders. Robin is also a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute.

Simon Skerratt-Williams

Simon Skerratt-Williams
Head of Wealth Planning
07852 753786
[email protected]

As Head of Bordier Wealth Planning, Simon provides a wide range of financial advice to our clients who do not have their own financial adviser. For more than 30 years, since graduating in Law from Southampton University, Simon has been providing advice to private clients out of a broad range of leading financial institutions including traditional investment managers, global investment banks and a multi-family office. As well as amassing a significant level of technical expertise, Simon has gained an innate sense of what is right for private clients through many years of practical experience.

Adam Sketchley
Investment Director & Head of Commercial Activities
07751 745340
[email protected]

Adam has over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry and joined Bordier UK in 2023 as an Investment Director & Head of Commercial Activities. He is a member of the Investment Committee and is responsible for managing discretionary client portfolios in addition to the oversight of wealth planning services to our clients who do not have their own financial adviser. He has attained a distinction (first in class) MBA from the University of Bath Business School and is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments.