Charles Stanley

Who we are

Charles Stanley began as a family business over 200 years ago and that ‘family’ ethos is still within the DNA of the business today, ever-present throughout our personalised service culture, and within our ownership structure. Nearly 40% of the company is owned by the Howard Family, members of which still work at Charles Stanley (indeed, Sir David Howard is our Chairman).  The business also has the corporate rigour of being a publicly-listed company – we are one of the oldest firms on the London Stock Exchange, now looking after £22.6 billion of assets under management (as at 30 June 2020).  

We provide investment management and financial planning services to a range of private clients, charities and institutions. Including landed estates and trusts, multi-generational families, agricultural wealth, entrepreneurs and business owners, sports, entertainment, media and city professionals, universities, schools and foundations. We also manage Court of Protection and personal injury mandates. 

Our business is client-driven across 23 UK offices, rather than volume-driven - which means we pursue growth at a pace which does not jeopardise our ability to put our clients’ interests first at all times.  

Each client is treated entirely separately, and a client’s experience is led by a direct relationship with their investment management team - providing additional accountability, clarity and transparency, with no added ‘relationship managers’. 

It is this personal level of trust and direct understanding about each client which is a key characteristic of what can be expected. 

What we do

• Understand the specific requirements of clients.
• Create bespoke portfolios for each discretionary client on an individual and family basis. 
• Not impose a single approach on the management of assets. We are not restricted to in-house models or in-house funds.  
• Safeguard wealth, generate income and optimise growth, across multiple generations.
• Open architecture approach, implemented through direct investments, third–party fund managers, or through a blend of both, depending on the requirements and objectives of each client.
• Excel in managing ESG requirements due to the bespoke delivery of our service, which is not ‘static’, thereby taking account of ESG developments in the marketplace.
• Take advantage of our local presence – with 23 offices across the UK, including: London, Oxford, Cambridge, Guilford, Norwich, Ipswich, Leigh-on-Sea, Tunbridge Wells, Eastbourne, Bournemouth, Southampton, Exeter, Plymouth, Bath, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leicester, Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Belfast. 
• Work as a team with clients and their other professional advisers, so that the circle of advice is maintained and the highest level of service overall is achieved for a client. 
• Deliver performance. 
• Meet service expectations.
• Total integrity.

Bespoke

Charles Stanley produces actively managed and diversified portfolios, with an open architecture approach. Client portfolios are implemented through direct investments, third–party fund managers, or through a blend of both, depending on client requirements. Portfolios are built with assets that generate long term, positive real returns, creating outcome-oriented strategies. This aligns investment returns to match with client objectives, such as income or capital growth. Investment strategies are managed within pre–set risk targets, and range from income, balanced, to growth and are available in Sterling, Dollar and Euro reference currencies.