Yahoo Finance Brevan Howard's billionaire co-founder returns to City after seven years out
Brevan Howard's billionaire co-founder Alan Howard has returned to London after seven years in Geneva, resurfacing in the City just as it fights to retain its crown as Europe's financial centre post-Brexit.
One of Britain's wealthiest fund managers, Mr Howard moved to Switzerland in 2010 - a time when many in the City were lured over by the low tax environment - and stayed there until this past weekend.
Although his decision to gravitate back to the UK is timely, a source said his move away from Switzerland was for personal reasons and does not indicate further changes or any particular refocus on London.
However many will be hoping his move back to the UK might trigger others to do the same, with the City pushing to keep hold of its status as Europe's financial hub amid Brexit-related uncertainty.
That said, while a number of investment banks look to relocate staff due to Brexit, many private banks are looking to ramp up their presence in the UK in a bid to win-over some of the country's wealthiest individuals.
Deutsche Bank's head of wealth management for Europe, the Middle East and Africa told Reuters on Monday that he wants to hire more private bankers in London because the region "is like a magnet for wealth."
"There are a lot of benefits which won't go away with Brexit," he said, adding the UK market is "underutilized".
His comments come weeks after Swiss private bank Julius Baer said it wanted to woo the UK's wealthiest individuals living outside London by opening hubs in Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow.
