Philip Harris, head of UK private client wealth management, said Somerset was “the first of a number of senior hires that we will be making over the next few months to build up our new Middle East desk”.
Harris added that RBC Wealth Management saw “a tremendous opportunity” to increase its asset base among clients in the Middle East who would be interested in the company’s spectrum of London-based banking, investment and trust products and services.
“This expansion of our international desk goes hand-in-hand with the continued growth of our UK domestic client team, and underlines our ambitions in the UK market,” Harris said.
In his new role with RBC Wealth Management, Somerset will be based in London and will act as a relationship manager, responsible for looking after Middle East-based clients. He will report to Harris.
Most recently Somerset had been a private banker with Al Mal Capital in Dubai. Previously he was a relationship manager at Barclays Wealth, also based in Dubai. He has also worked as an independent consultant involved in raising start-up capital, with a focus on private clients in the Middle East and North Africa.
New York- and Toronto-listed Royal Bank of Canada and its subsidiaries comprise Canada’s largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalisation, with the various entities all doing business globally under the RBC brand umbrella. It employs around 78,000 people.
Its RBC Wealth Management operation is among the world’s 10 largest wealth managers, with clients in Canada, the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
