Book an appointment today
Book an appointment today

Meet the team

Directors and Investment Team

Phil Simmonds
LL.B(Hons), MBA, FPFS, CHARTERED MCSI
SOLICITOR-ADVOCATE (NON PRACTISING)

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Phil founded Private Office Asset Management in 2006 and is also the founder and significant shareholder of Simmonds Private Office (Hong Kong) - trading in Hong Kong since 1996.

Phil is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and is a qualified CISI Chartered Wealth Manager. He is also a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society as is a qualified Chartered Financial Planner. Phil has worked both on the corporate side & private client side of the investment industry, specialising in bespoke strategies.

Phil spent 3 years working as an investment consultant at Close Brothers Group, – the UK merchant bank, – 2 years as a Director at Brewin Dolphin Securities, and for 6 years was Head of UK Intermediary Business Development and the Charities Division at the global financial services group Collins Stewart Hawkpoint Plc, which was taken over by Canaccord Financial Inc.

Phil worked for 2 years as a consultant for R&H Fund Services (Jersey) Limited, and has appeared regularly on television as the expert on BBC’s It’s Your Money and Sky Digital’s Simply Money program.

Email: phil.simmonds@private-office.co.uk

Peter Cousins
CHARTERED FCSI | CHARTERED WEALTH MANAGER

CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER

Peter is our Chief Investment Officer. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and is a qualified CISI Chartered Wealth Manager. He has been a member of the Institute since 2000.

Peter has worked in the finance industry for 25 years, initially as a dealer at Fidelity Investments where he also ran a successful new issues desk, then at Schroders in a customer liaison role.

Peter then spent more than 17 years at Brewin Dolphin Securities where he managed both discretionary and advisory investment portfolios for private clients, professional services clients and charities.

More recently, Peter has been a product specialist and investment research analyst within a niche financial services firm, advising on investment strategies and creating risk-based portfolios.

Email: peter.cousins@private-office.co.uk

Sebastian Simmonds
BSc.(Hons)

Assistant Investment Manager & Analyst

Sebastian graduated from Kingston University with BSc.(Hons) in Business management with Business Experience, - achieving a 2.1. Having joined the firm part time in 2015, Sebastian took up his position of Assistant Investment Manager in March 2019, where he reports directly to Peter Cousins, our Chief Investment Officer. Sebastian is currently studying for the Chartered Institute for Investment & Securities Level 4 Investment Advice Diploma (Securities).

Sebastian enjoys classic cars, and regular drives his 1964 Triumph TR4 to classic car shows. He also enjoys rock music, - and in particular his annual trek to Donnington Park for the Download Rock Festival. But most of all he loves investments and research!

Email: sebastian.simmonds@private-office.co.uk

JAMIE SCARAMANGA

TRAINEE INVESTMENT ASSISTANT AND RESEARCH ANALYST

Jamie joined the firm straight from education where he majored in Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science, and following a very successful work experience trial with us.

Jamie is an affiliate of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments (CISI) and is studying towards gaining his Level 4 Investment Advice Diploma (Securities).

Jamie reports directly to Phil Simmonds in the investment team, and also to Peter Cousins and alongside Sebastian to make up our specialist investment team of 4. Jamie’s progress to date has been quite remarkable and he is already establishing himself as a key member of the team.

Jamie is a fitness fanatic and is extremely competitive in all walks of life. He successfully achieved the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award at a young age and is a qualified gymnastics coach. In his spare time, Jamie teaches and coaches gymnastics to students ranging from 4 years old to 30 years old. (too late for most of us here sadly!). He is good at most sports and particularly enjoys the extreme sport of “parkour” which is freestyle street gymnastics involving perpendicular walls and high buildings.

Email: jamie.scaramanaga@private-office.co.uk

Compliance and Paraplanning

Louise Weir

Client Liaison/Account set up and transitions

A client of Private Office Asset Management since 2006, Louise possesses a keen interest in investment and financial matters, with outstanding attention to detail. Louise is a successful businesswoman in her own right and prior to joining us she sold her business “Love Reading”, which she co-founded. Prior to that Louise was Marketing Director for a leading publishing firm for 7 years, where she led a team of 7 staff.

Louise is Head of Client Liaison and Transitions and oversees all client onboarding and the company’s platform business. She also assists the advisers in putting together client reports, and makes a valuable contribution to our monthly Investment Committee meetings.

Email: louise.weir@private-office.co.uk

SHANNON READ

ASSISTANT PARAPLANNER
HEAD OF PLATFORM BUSINESS & CLIENT LIAISON

Shannon is an Assistant Paraplanner to the advisers and is also Head of Platform Business & Client Liaison, reporting directly to Louise Weir.

Prior to joining Private Office Asset Management, Shannon had previously worked for 6 years within the financial services industry. She started at Barclays Bank, and then moved on to Benchmark Capital where she worked in their private client services department, and latterly she enjoyed 2 years at Fusion Wealth.

A Student Member of the Personal Finance Society, Shannon is currently studying her Core exams to qualify as a Paraplanner.

Outside of work, Shannon enjoys listening to rock music and spending time with her family and friends, whilst also being busy planning her wedding for next Spring.

Email: shannon.read@private-office.co.uk

Administration

Michelle Simmonds

PRACTICE MANAGER | HEAD OF ADMINISTRATION

Michelle is Practice Manager & Head of Administration for the business. Her role is to keep everybody in order, from the Directors, advisers and staff to the third party services providers, associated firms, introducers and liaising on compliance matters with our compliance team in Huddersfield, and organising our quarterly compliance visits and external file checks.

Michelle in essence ensures the smooth running of the business and commands everybody’s respect!

In her spare time, Michelle enjoys horse riding, keeping fit and aerobics. She is also a talented artist.

Email: michelle.simmonds@private-office.co.uk

Dunstan Harris, BA(Hons)

Head Of Social Media

Dunstan graduated from Bournemouth University with a Sports Management degree, and joined the Private Office Asset Management in July 2020, - as Relationship Manager for our Intermediary Partners & Corporate Services.

As a post-graduate and prior to joining us, Dunstan gained valuable experience in marketing and Events Management, which included successful spells developing luxury packaging ranges for clients in high end cosmetics companies, entertainment and hospitality. Dunstan has also been a key figure within a very successful marketing team that have created and developed strategies for global campaigns for brands including Nissan, Redbull and MTV.

Dunstan is naturally well organised with exceptional attention to detail, and as we continue on our own growth strategy he will be continuing our efforts to forge new relationships with professional services firms for Private Office Asset Management, - as well as assisting in the smooth running of our existing relationships. Dunstan is also responsible for our Social Media platforms.

Away from work, Dunstan is a keen and very able sportsman, - and is a keen Chelsea FC Supporter. Dunstan is also an accomplished photographer, and enjoys spending time with his young family.