Barclays the Wealth and Investment Management Division

The overview

Barclays Wealth specialises in providing services to affluent individuals and families as well as to institutions. So, for example, it might advise a successful entrepreneur on how to invest the proceeds of the sale of a business.

The wealth management services on offer range from loans to help individuals expand a business to guidance on inheritance planning. The client base is international. It includes institutions such as charities, trading companies and ship management firms, and financial intermediaries – that is, organisations that accept money from savers and loan it out to borrowers.

Barclays Wealth is one of three divisions that make up the commercial, investment banking and wealth management business cluster within the Barclays Group. Its clients may also make use of Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of the group, and Barclays Corporate, which works with organisations with a turnover of more than £5 million a year. It has recently been suggested that Barclays Wealth is planning to expand in the US.

Barclays Wealth offers a range of tailored services:

• Private banking. Providing one-to-one advice and wealth management for affluent individuals and families both in the UK and abroad.
• Brokerage. This is available via Barclays Stockbrokers for clients who want to manage their own investments in the stock market.
• Fiduciary services. These involve the bank acting in a trust capacity on behalf of clients and include management of trusts, hedge fund administration and property structure management.
• Investment management. Barclays Wealth devises strategies to meet clients’ needs and gives them as much direct involvement in day-to-day decisions about their investments as they wish.

Awards and rankings

• Best Overall Private Bank in the UK and Jersey, Euromoney Private Banking Awards, 2011
• Wealth Manager of the Year, Global Investor Magazine Awards, 2010

Salary and benefits

Barclays Wealth says only that the pay on offer is competitive. Anecdotal evidence suggests that graduate starting salaries may be around £24,000. There are also joining and performance-related bonuses.

Further benefits include:

• Full pension and healthcare
• Season ticket loans
• Share schemes
• Employee discounts

Culture and values

The business of Barclays Wealth is private banking for wealthy individuals, families and institutions – so working for it is fundamentally about establishing and maintaining good client relationships. Because clients are typically individuals or small groups, client relationships need a more personal touch than the more business orientated approach that is typical in other corporate careers. This is a view strongly promoted by Barclays Wealth itself.

Relationships with clients need a more personal touch.

Working life in an office in the regions may well be different to being based in London. Offices are typically a little smaller outside of the capital, and interaction with colleagues and senior management may be both more varied and more plentiful, so new starters in the regions could get to know a number of superiors rather than being assigned one or two in particular. Networking is clearly essential whatever office you are stationed in.

Project Gamma

Project Gamma is the name given internally to the initiative aimed at increasing Barclays Wealth's share of the market. The prinicipal aim is to have Barclays Wealth become one of the top five biggest private banks globally, no small part of which is an increase in staffing numbers - potentially doubling to around 1,300 by 2015. £350m is to be invested between 2011 and 2016 to achieve this goal, much of that money going towards infrastructure changes and specialist hires.