Solomon Soquar has been appointed head of global investments and solutions (GI&S) at Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, following six months of shakeups and departures.
Soquar directly replaces Rory Tobin, who quit in July. Barclays Wealth CEO Pete Horrell also resigned in June, alongside head of alternatives Sarah Newman, head of private equity Helen Posner and Laurent Perusset, who led investment activities in Switzerland.
The senior-level exodus followed hot on the heels of the bank’s decision in May to merge its wealth management branch into its retail arm. The change was intended to reduce complexity but is thought to have involved significant budget cuts and appears to have alienated many managers.
However, Soquar, who has 24 years’ experience in investment management and previously headed up Barclays Wealth GI&S’s investment products and solutions arm, said: “This is an exciting time to be taking charge of GI&S – I feel honoured to lead this team.”
CEO Akshaya Bhargava, to whom Soquar will report, added: “In Solomon we have a values driven individual, with deep investment expertise and a strategic outlook to continue to build out our investment centre of excellence.”
