# Rathbones: the UK's wealth house with a banking licence inside

> Rathbones — £120.7bn FUMA: the banking licence inside RIM, the Investec deal, entry from £150k, the EDD onboarding pause after the FCA review and FSCS £120k protection.

Author: Adam Ihsan — Venture Partner (https://wiki.private.law/en/authors/adam)
Last modified: 2026-10-26T13:35:00.000Z
Canonical: https://wiki.private.law/en/rathbones
Publisher: wiki.private.law (https://wiki.private.law)
Version: b031b9f15b05c6f657da6e72b5217546e9c419594683f3b1b52381b31d0b5247
Cite as: Rathbones: the UK's wealth house with a banking licence inside. wiki.private.law. https://wiki.private.law/en/rathbones. Version b031b9f15b05c6f657da6e72b5217546e9c419594683f3b1b52381b31d0b5247.
Topics: banking
Jurisdictions: uk, jersey, guernsey, ireland
Functional tags: private-banking
Product tags: bank, wealth-planning, investment, custody, lombard-credit, trust, estate-planning
Semantic tags: private-banking, bank, wealth-planning, investment, custody, lombard-credit, trust, estate-planning

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## Concept

**Rathbones Group Plc** is the UK's largest private wealth-management house, listed on the LSE (RAT, FTSE 250). **Type**: an investment manager with a banking licence inside: deposits are taken by Rathbones Investment Management Limited (a licensed deposit taker, PRA/FCA). Founded in Liverpool in 1742. Since the [combination with Investec Wealth & Investment](https://www.rathbones.com/sites/rathbones.com/files/completion_of_the_combination.pdf) (all-share, ~[£839m](https://www.rathbones.com/sites/rathbones.com/files/results_and_presentations/files/rathbones_2023_preliminary_results_3.pdf), completed September 2023) Investec holds a 41.25% economic interest with voting capped at 29.9%. The CEO is Jonathan Sorrell (since 2025, succeeding Paul Stockton).

## History and evolution

The Rathbones' Liverpool trading house dates to 1742; in 1912 it moved from trading to financial management; listed on the LSE. Growth through acquisitions: Speirs & Jeffrey (Scotland, 2018), Saunderson House (2021). The biggest step was the combination with Investec's UK wealth business: ~55,000 clients migrated by mid-2025, with £76m of annualised synergies beating the target. In October 2026 it received a [Central Bank of Ireland licence](https://www.rathbones.com/en-gb/wealth-management/media-centre/rathbones-gains-licence-operate-ireland-and-eu) — the Dublin entity opens access to EU clients.

Funds under management and administration stood at [£120.7bn at 30 June 2026](https://www.rathbones.com/en-gb/wealth-management/media-centre/rathbones-announces-interim-results-6-months-ended-30-june-2026) (+10.7% y/y); over 100,000 clients, ~3,300 staff, 21 offices.

> 🍓 Client deposits sit with Rathbones Investment Management Limited and are FSCS-protected — [£120,000 from 1 December 2025](https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2025/november/pra-confirms-fscs-deposit-limit-to-be-increased-to-120000-from-1-december) per person (temporary high balances up to £1.4m); the limit is shared across the Rathbones and Greenbank brands. Jersey and Guernsey operations are investment businesses outside the FSCS. Custody securities are segregated under CASS rules.

## Regulation

- **PRA / FCA** — Rathbones Investment Management Limited (banking and investment licences);
- **FCA** — Rathbones Asset Management Ltd (funds);
- **JFSC** — Rathbones Investment Management International Ltd (Jersey); the Guernsey point is Investec legacy;
- **Central Bank of Ireland** — Rathbones Ireland (MiFID licence, October 2026).
## Source of funds and compliance

Onboarding runs through an adviser: identification, beneficial owners, [source of funds](https://wiki.private.law/en/source-of-funds). Dated and material: in June 2026 an FCA Skilled Person Review (s.166) found weaknesses in Consumer Duty embedding and controls, and the group [voluntarily paused onboarding of new enhanced-due-diligence clients for up to 12 months](https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/rathbones-skilled-person-review-signals-1452677/) plus inflows for ~4,700 existing EDD clients; this is a regulator-requested measure, not enforcement, with an estimated £60m cost over two years. No fines were imposed.

> 💡 Prepare the source-of-wealth file in advance: sale of a business, dividends, inheritance. The mechanics are covered in the guide on [documenting source of funds](https://wiki.private.law/en/source-of-funds).

## Who it serves

- **UK**: officially — the Managed format from £150,000, Bespoke from £300,000;
- **Jersey/Guernsey**: officially — Managed from £250,000, Bespoke from £500,000;
- **Private Office** for UHNW — from £5m;
- **non-residents** — via Jersey/Guernsey and the new Irish entity for the EU;
- **charities** — a historic niche (3,000+ clients, portfolios from £10k to £100m+); personal-injury and Court of Protection work.
## Services

### Wealth management

- discretionary (Bespoke/Managed) and advisory management; a restricted-advice model;
- funds: UK unit trusts/OEICs and Luxembourg SICAVs; the Greenbank ethical line.
### Banking and lending

- client deposits and [portfolio-secured lending](https://wiki.private.law/en/lombard-lending) up to 50% LTV (GBP/USD/EUR/CHF);
- fuller banking (accounts, mortgages, FX) — referred to Investec Bank.
### Trusts and planning

- Rathbones Trust Company and Rathbones Legal Services: trusts, estates, tax;
- financial planning (the Saunderson House legacy) and the charity line.
## Entities and booking centres

| Jurisdiction | Legal entity | Format and supervisor | Role for the client |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| UK | Rathbones Investment Management Ltd (21 offices) | PRA/FCA (deposit licence) | domestic market |
| Jersey | Rathbones Investment Management International Ltd | JFSC | offshore servicing of non-residents |
| Guernsey | office (Investec W&I Channel Islands legacy) | GFSC | island servicing |
| Ireland | Rathbones Ireland, Dublin | Central Bank of Ireland (licensed October 2026) | EU entry |

## Strengths

- the UK's largest wealth platform with a banking licence inside;
- scale from the Investec deal with delivered synergies;
- niches competitors lack: charities, Court of Protection, the Greenbank ethical line;
- a fresh EU entry via Dublin.
## Where it does not fit

- clients who need a full bank (mortgages, currency accounts) inside one entity — that is a referral model via Investec Bank;
- those planning to onboard within a year under enhanced diligence: new EDD-client onboarding is paused until mid-2027;
- fortunes below £150,000;
- clients in Asia or the Americas — the presence is UK-Islands-EU.
Rathbones after the Investec deal is the UK's wealth giant with a banking licence inside and a fresh EU entry; the coming year sits under the shadow of the FCA review and the EDD onboarding pause.

## Q/A

### Entry and format

### What minimum capital does Rathbones require?

Officially: Managed from £150,000, Bespoke from £300,000 (on the islands — £250,000/£500,000), the Private Office for UHNW from £5m. The fund line starts at £1,000. Portfolio-secured lending starts at £50,000.

### What does the EDD onboarding pause mean?

Following the FCA's Skilled Person Review, Rathbones will not take on new enhanced-due-diligence clients until mid-2027 and has restricted inflows for some existing ones. Ordinary client service is unchanged; the measure is voluntary and no fines were imposed.

### What does the deposit guarantee cover?

Deposits at Rathbones Investment Management Limited — FSCS £120,000 (temporary high balances up to £1.4m), a shared limit across group brands. Securities are segregated under CASS. Jersey/Guernsey operations sit outside the FSCS.

### The Investec deal

### Who owns Investec's UK wealth business now?

Rathbones: the 2023 combination (~£839m) moved ~55,000 Investec Wealth & Investment UK clients into Rathbones; Investec received a 41.25% economic interest (voting capped at 29.9%). The deal excluded Investec Bank (Switzerland) and the international IW&I business — see the article on [Investec](https://wiki.private.law/en/investec).

### Does Rathbones have a bank?

Not a separate bank — a banking licence inside: the deposit-taking entity is Rathbones Investment Management Limited (PRA/FCA). Client cash therefore sits on the group's balance sheet with FSCS protection, while full banking functionality runs through the Investec Bank partnership.

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