Antony John
Director
Antony, one of the founding Directors of Ilex and over two periods, has completed over 20 separate assignments with various well-known asset/wealth managers, both large and boutique. These have included integration projects (Aberdeen, Standard Life Investments and Federated and Hermes), strategic growth projects (Downing LLP and Fisch Asset Management), and many client focussed reorganisation and sales growth projects, including disposals and acquisitions. Antony is the largest individual shareholder of Ilex Associates.
Up until April 2023, Antony was the Regional Head of Aberdeen Asset Management’s UK Client Group with responsibility for the development and oversight of £120bn of external UK Institutional, Insurance, Wholesale and Liquidity clients, which also included the UK strategic partnerships (Virgin Money, Skipton but ex-Phoenix). Additional responsibilities included the global oversight of private markets. He was on gardening leave until the beginning of 2024.
He was appointed to this role in 2019 following his consultancy leadership of the global client integration project following the merger between Standard Life Investments and Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017.
Previously, Antony was one of four director/principals of Ilex Associates, a specialist asset management consultancy. Notable client assignments included Aberdeen Asset Management, Aberdeen Standard Investments, Federated Hermes, Brompton Asset Management, Franklin Templeton, Alliance Trust, Gulf International Bank, Willis Towers Watson (AMX), Fisch Asset Management, Janus Henderson and Alliance Bernstein.
From 2013 to 2015, Antony was CEO of the currency manager The ECU Group plc. ECU is a privately-owned firm and a specialist in managing currency debt and managed currency portfolios.
Prior to ECU, Antony was CEO of FundQuest (2008 – 2012), the institutional multi manager specialist of BNP Paribas Investment Partners which managed and advised on over £30bn of Retail Bank, Private Bank, pension, strategic partners and family office assets. This followed the acquisition by BNP Paribas of Investment Manager Selection (IMS), in 2008, at that time the largest independent institutional multi manager in the UK (£6.3bn), where Antony was CEO and one of five principal shareholders.
Given his profile in the asset management industry, Antony has been in demand as a regular speaker on the international conference circuit and has presented at conferences in the UK, USA, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has also been a semi-regular contributor to the financial trade press.
Before joining IMS in 2003 Antony was an Executive Vice President at the Swiss Private Bank Lombard Odier, with responsibility for the £17bn Northern European institutional business with teams in London, Geneva, Zurich, Paris, and Amsterdam.
Antony spent the formative years of his career, between 1988 and 1998, at Hill Samuel Asset Management, culminating in heading the UK client business for institutional and wholesale assets. Antony is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment and a Freeman of the City of London.