Axa Wealth hires Nucleus COO

9 August 2012 | By Natalie Holt

Axa Wealth has appointed Nucleus chief operating officer Andrew Smith as chief operating officer for Elevate.

Smith will join Elevate’s senior management on 3 September and will report to Axa Wealth chief executive Mike Kellard.

Smith joined Nucleus in 2006 when the platform launched and was responsible for the platform’s design and build. 

Kellard says: “Securing Andrew will help further develop the strength of our overall adviser offer ahead of the introduction of the RDR.”

Nucleus chief executive David Ferguson says: “Andy is one of the best problem-solvers in the platform space, I can totally understand why a business like Axa would be keen to have him on board.”

Nucleus is recruiting for Smith’s replacement.

Last week, Axa Wealth’s half-year results showed total sales fell 16 per cent from £1.9bn to £1.6b in the six months to 30 June, although the firm saw strong growth in assets on its Elevate platform and investment company Architas.

Offshore sales were down 37 per cent to £345m. However, platform sales increased 11 per cent to £855m, with assets on the platform increasing 49 per cent from £2.9bn to £4.3bn.

Architas assets were up 26 per cent from £8.6bn to £10.8bn.

Premier Wealth Management managing director Adrian Shandley says: “Axa has been very aggressive in its marketing strategy so I am not surprised to see the level of platform assets increase.”

If you enjoyed this article, sign up here to receive daily email updates from Money Marketing and Follow @_moneymarketing