Exclusive: Brooks Macdonald makes senior layoffs

Brooks Macdonald has laid off a number of senior staff, including the firm’s global head of distribution, in a bid to save costs, City AM can reveal.

The redundancies from the asset manager were described by one former employee as “pretty brutal”, having occurred in the months before Christmas.

The layoffs first seem to have begun after the firm’s chief operating officer Caroline Abbondanza was let go in August .

She joined Brooks Macdonald as chief technology officer and took on the COO role at the start of 2023, and was then ultimately replaced by current CTO Gavin Neilson.

The firm’s global head of distribution Sarah Ackland was then let go, despite previously sitting on the firm’s executive committee.

This was then followed by a further wave of layoffs, including the firm’s global head of marketing and head of public relations.

“It seemed to me that they were keeping it below the 10 per cent threshold, and doing it over a staggered period of time, so they didn’t have to enter into a consultation,” said one former employee.

The layoffs from Brooks Macdonald come following a wave of acquisitions from the asset manager over the last four months.

These included financial planning firms CST Wealth Management and Lucas Fettes Financial Planning, and independent financial advisor LIFT , in a deal worth up to £45m.

“If you look at the acquisitions, with the people, there’s going to be a lot of overlap in the operational roles,” the former employee added.

The job losses come roughly a year after Brooks Macdonald made a more sweeping round of redundancies. In October 2023, the investment shop laid off around 55 people across all areas of the business, saving around £4m in staff costs.

In September, Brooks Macdonald chief executive Andrea Montague refused to rule out further job cuts , stating that the business was focusing on efficiency.

“Brooks Macdonald has continued to strengthen its senior management team in recent months with exciting appointments in finance, sales, distribution, marketing and communications,” a Brooks Macdonald spokesperson told City AM .

“These appointments support the group’s strategy to reignite growth through its commitment to excellent client service and broadening and deepening client reach.”