Barclays Wealth Appoints Hans Olsen as Head of Americas Investment Strategy as It Continues to Build Research Team Globally

NEW YORK, July 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Barclays Wealth, a leading global wealth manager by assets under management, is pleased to announce the appointment of Hans Olsen as a Managing Director and Head of Americas Investment Strategy.  

In this newly created role, Mr. Olsen will help develop the firm's strategic and tactical asset allocation and will manage the Investment Strategy team in the US. His focus will be on delivering regionally-customized investment strategies for high net worth clients in the Americas. Based in New York, Mr. Olsen will report directly to Aaron Gurwitz, the Barclays Wealth Chief Investment Officer.

"Hans has an exceptional background that makes him an ideal addition to our team," said Mitch Cox, head of Global Research and Investments as well as the Americas for Barclays Wealth. "With experience in global, boutique and private family firms, Hans combines a deep understanding of the markets with an ability to convey his insights as practical, actionable guidance for our clients."

"Hans' strong investment expertise across publicly traded and private asset classes is an excellent complement to the team's economic and behavioral finance strengths," said Mr. Gurwitz.

Mr. Olsen joins Barclays Wealth from JP Morgan where he served as Chief Investment Officer for Private Wealth Management since 2007. In this role, he was a member of the Private Bank's Global Investment Strategy team and responsible for constructing portfolios with a focus on asset allocation and manager selection, as well as building and maintaining an investment solutions platform. Prior to JP Morgan, Mr. Olsen was Chief Investment Officer at Bingham Legg Advisors, a Boston-based wealth manager, and also a portfolio manager at Emerson Investment Management, where he served as co-chairman of the Investment Strategy Committee. Previously, Mr. Olsen founded a private asset management company that specialized in managing portfolios for individuals and small institutions. From 1993 to 1995, he served as a senior portfolio manager at Ram Trust Services, a family office. His responsibilities there included the core equity and fixed income portfolio, a private money market fund, and private placement investments. Mr. Olsen began his career at Argus Research in New York.

A CFA charterholder, Mr. Olsen holds a BA from Bates College in Maine. He has completed the executive education program on investment decisions and behavioural finance at Harvard University.

"With Hans, Kevin Gardiner, our head of Investment Strategy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Benjamin Yeo, our head of Research, Economics and Investment Strategy for Asia, Greg Davies, our Head of Behavioral Finance, and our CIO Aaron Gurwitz, we believe Barclays Wealth now has one of the industry's finest research teams dedicated to high net worth investors," continued Mr. Cox, who oversees both the firm's global research and investment product platform as well as its Americas wealth management business.

With 14 offices across the U.S. and Latin America, including its trust office in Delaware, Barclays Wealth in the Americas provides comprehensive wealth management to high net worth individuals and families. The firm focuses on understanding its clients' financial needs, personal aspirations and tolerance for risk in order to design and implement highly customized investment solutions.

About Barclays Wealth

Barclays Wealth is a leading global wealth manager, and the UK's largest, with total client assets of $266bn (166bn pounds Sterling) as of March 31, 2011. With offices in over 20 countries, Barclays Wealth focuses on private and intermediary clients worldwide, providing international and private banking, investment management, fiduciary services and brokerage. For further information about Barclays Wealth, please visit our website www.barclayswealthamericas.com. Twitter page: www.twitter.com/barclayswealth

Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management with an extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. With over 300 years of history and experience in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs 147,500 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and manages money for customers and clients worldwide.

Barclays Wealth, the wealth management division of Barclays Bank PLC, functions in the U.S. through Barclays Capital Inc., an affiliate of Barclays Bank PLC. Barclays Capital Inc. is a registered broker dealer and investment adviser, regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Member FINRA/SIPC.

Barclays Bank PLC, registered in England and Wales (no. 1026167), has a registered office at 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP, United Kingdom, and is regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

SOURCE Barclays Wealth