Financial planning-led wealth manager atomos has appointed four senior executives to new roles, as it prepares the ground for the next phase of its strategy to set the gold standard for financial planning-led wealth management in the UK.
The bolstered financial planning management team will be led by Chief Operations Officer Niral Parekh, who becomes Managing Director of Financial Planning. In his new role, Parekh will be responsible for ensuring strong adherence to high quality standards and prioritising the wellbeing and success of atomos financial planners, employees and clients.
Parekh has a long track record in strategy and business turnaround in the wealth management space, with roles in senior management at Tilney/Towry Wealth Management, and Ashcourt Rowan Group. His extensive experience in business advisory in supporting corporate clients to evolve and grow brings a new perspective to the role.
Parekh’s replacement as COO will be announced in due course.
Supporting Parekh will be a newly appointed leadership team which draws on key knowledge and experience within the business. It comprises:
Helen Howcroft, Head of Women’s Financial Advice, who becomes Private Client Director, Financial Planning. Helen joined atomos last year following atomos’s acquisition of her firm, Equanimity IFA. She will continue managing her clients and helping to build atomos’s women’s financial planning business.
Ian Martin, Deputy Head of Wealth Planning, who becomes National Director, Financial Planning. He will have primary responsibility for collaborating closely with regional heads of office on all matters related to adviser wellbeing and growth. His pivotal role involves aligning key performance indicators encompassing compliance, training, growth, and career development, fostering optimal performance and consistency across all financial planners.
Dawn Mealing, Financial Planning Business Manager, who becomes Proposition Director, Financial Planning. She will provide strategic leadership and direction in refining and optimising atomos’s financial planning proposition and client outcomes. Emphasising clarity, speed of advice delivery and simplicity in the offering, Dawn will lead the drive to align the atomos proposition with the letter and the spirit of Consumer Duty standards. Before joining atomos in August 2023, Dawn was Head of Advice Policy & Proposition at Fidelity International.
Head of Wealth Planning, Elliott Silk, will step down in June after nearly 10 years with the company. Between now and June, he will be focused on ensuring a smooth transition for clients and the wider business
Jonathan Polin, Chief Executive Officer at atomos, said: “Preparing the ground for the business to realise our goal of leading the UK in next-generation financial planning-led wealth management takes time, a lot longer than you first anticipate. It is therefore great to see the months of hard work and planning come to fruition with the announcement of our bolstered financial planning leadership team under Niral.
“There is no better fit to take the helm of our financial planning business than Niral, who brings a strategic mindset which will help us go from strength to strength. With the support of Helen, Dawn and Ian in their new roles, I am excited for what the future holds for atomos as we continue on our path to becoming a nationally-recognised leader in the financial planning space.
“I would like to thank Elliott Silk for his huge contribution to the business over the last decade, which included seeing us through the transition period from Sanlam to atomos. Elliott has been instrumental in getting us to this stage in our development and we wish him the very best in his exciting new guidance venture.”
Elliott Silk, Head of Wealth Planning at atomos, added: “When you invest so much of yourself and your time in a business it is extremely comforting to know that you leave it in the very best of hands. I will be watching with interest, and a great deal of affection, the great things atomos will achieve under Niral and the team.”
