About The Investment Bridge: A specialist consultancy practice

The Investment Bridge is an independent consultancy practice, founded in 2011, specialising in structured products, smart beta, ETF’s, passive / index funds and quants-driven investment propositions, providing deep industry knowledge and expertise in these areas and connecting resources and services relevant to clients.

The Investment Bridge’s clients generally fall into two main categories: 1) the ‘sell-side’, i.e. issuers and product providers; 2) the ‘buy-side’, i.e. wealth management investment professionals and advisers. Clients typically may be:

• Investment banks / structured product issuers and providers

• Asset management companies, including active, passive, smart beta and specialist product providers

• Retail banks and building societies

• Private banks, family offices and stockbrokers

• Pension fund and institutional consultants

• Wealth managers and independent financial advisers (IFA's) / planners

• Platforms

• Index providers

• Regulatory authorities and industry trade bodies and associations

• Media

Founder

The Investment Bridge was founded by Chris Taylor, a high profile and highly regarded investment industry professional, with extensive experience gained at Director and Chief Executive level, in both blue chip asset management and specialist structured product and investment provider firms. .

Associates

The Investment Bridge can provide clients with access to a range of industry associates, all of whom are recognised experts in their respective fields, with experience gained in senior positions at both major global institutions and / or specialist firms.

Biography : Chris Taylor

Founder and Managing Director, The Investment Bridge Limited

Chris is Founder and Managing Director of the Investment Bridge Limited.

Established in 2011, The Investment Bridge is an independent consultancy firm, typically working with investment banks, asset management firms, investment product providers and wealth managers/investment advisers, providing specialist structured product expertise, resources and services, including facilitating bespoke and/or exclusive structured products.

Past projects have included providing input to launch Lowes Structured Investment Centre, as a ‘by advisers for advisers’ service supporting UK professional advisers using structured products. Current projects include providing input to international asset management company Alpha Real Capital, operating in conjunction with TIME Investments and Alternative Real Capital, to conceive, launch and establish Tempo Structured Products in the UK, with the aim of ensuring Alpha Real Capital / Tempo bring something different to the structured products sector, redefining structured products for professional advisers and their clients.

Prior to founding The Investment Bridge, Chris was Managing Director at Incapital Europe, the London-based affiliate of Incapital, a US-based investment banking firm and leading independent provider of structured products for professionally advised investors.

From 2007 to 2010, Chris was founder and Chief Executive of Blue Sky Asset Management, a multi-award winning (including: Best in UK, Best Research Process, Most Useful Website for Investors in the UK) firm specialising in research-backed structured products for professional advisers, with tailored offerings for discretionary managers, private client stockbrokers and institutions. The business of Blue Sky Asset Management was acquired by Incapital in July 2010.

Between 2006 and 2007, Chris was Managing Director of the Structured Investment Division of Dawnay Day Quantum, a subsidiary business within the Dawnay Day Group, a privately owned Private Equity, Property and Financial Services group.

From 1996 to 2006, Chris evolved his career in the investment industry whilst with HSBC Asset Management, the global investment business of HSBC Group. In addition to involvement across HSBC Asset Management’s product range, with responsibilities covering long only funds, passive funds (Chris was responsible for setting up the cheapest FTSE 100 tracker fund in the UK over a decade ago, for Hargreaves Lansdown), multi-manager and alternatives funds, Chris was Director of UK Structured Products Distribution, with multi-channel (internal bank and external 3rd party intermediary and wealth manager) distribution responsibility.

Chris’s financial services career dates back to 1987, initially as a private client adviser. He has been actively involved with the structured products industry since its earliest days in the UK, in the mid 1990’s, playing a significant role in its creation and in many of its turning points over the years.

He was awarded ‘Highly Commended, Outstanding Industry Contribution’ in both 2009 and 2010, and was also responsible for creating and delivering the most comprehensive, and award-winning, educational ‘masterclass’ programme ever undertaken by the UK structured product industry, accredited by the Institute of Financial Planning.

Chris is a well-known and highly regarded ‘go to’ expert in the structured investment industry, with a prominent profile in both the trade and national press, including writing for the Financial Times, The Telegraph, contributing to the BBC, etc. Recent publications have included chapters written for the ‘FT Guide to Investing for Income’ (Financial Times/Pearson, 2012) and ‘Structured Products: Evolution and Analysis’ (Risk Magazine, 2013).

Regularly contributing to media and industry conferences and events to help raise the industry bar, promote the industry and advance best practice amongst advisers, investors and commentators, Chris’s reputation is founded upon being steadfastly client/consumer centric in all respects and totally committed to ensuring investment integrity in the firms and propositions that he engages with.