Chairman Stephen Welch takes over as executive group chair on an interim basis while the board searches for a permanent CEO
Blythe Masters has stepped down as chief executive of FNZ Group, the London-headquartered wealth management platform that underpins much of the UK’s advice and investment infrastructure, in a leadership transition announced this week. Masters, who took over as CEO in August 2024 from FNZ founder Adrian Durham, will continue to support the business in an advisory capacity for six months to help ensure an orderly handover.
Stephen Welch, who was recently appointed chairman, has been named executive group chair on an interim basis, taking on chief executive responsibilities alongside his existing role while the board runs a process to identify a permanent group chief executive. FNZ said its strategy, transformation programme and client commitments remain unchanged.
Welch said: “FNZ has a strong business, a clear strategy, market-leading technology and an exceptional client portfolio. I look forward to working closely with colleagues across the group as we continue to execute our transformation programme, improve delivery for clients and build on the significant progress already made.” He also paid tribute to his predecessor: “On behalf of the board, I would also like to thank Blythe for her leadership and significant contribution to FNZ. FNZ enters this next chapter as a stronger and more focused organisation, and I am confident in the opportunities ahead for the business, our clients, our shareholders and our people.”
FNZ said Masters, a former JPMorgan executive who joined the company two years ago, had overseen “substantial” progress executing its transformation programme, strengthened the group’s financial position, advanced key regulatory priorities, simplified the business through the divestment of non-core assets, and continued to grow assets on the platform, which now exceed $2.5 trillion.
The change comes at a pivotal moment for FNZ’s UK business. The group raised a further $450m in equity earlier this month, taking total capital raised over the past two years to $2.6bn, and several major UK platforms, including Nucleus, remain mid-migration onto FNZ’s technology. For advisers and wealth managers whose clients’ assets sit on FNZ-powered platforms, leadership continuity at the infrastructure level matters as much as at any individual provider, and the board’s insistence that strategy and client commitments remain unchanged will be closely watched as the search for a permanent chief executive gets under way.
