Blog: Another exit? What is going on at Ashcourt Rowan?

Ashcourt Rowan has acquired a bad habit of losing staff and with rumours of more to follow it had better act quick to stem the tide.

Today news surfaced that group investment director Guy Stephens and head of collectives research Tim Cockerill will leave the firm for Rowan Dartington in September, a significant loss in experience for Ashcourt.

For Cockerill the move is more sideways than up - he is taking on the same title he had at Ashcourt - suggesting it is perhaps the firm rather than the role he wants shot of.

The departures were confirmed by a hastily-put-together holding statement from Dartington after the moves were announced internally yesterday and leaked this morning.

It is telling that no formal press release was issued by either party. Dartington would have been keen to advertise the hires so the assumption is Ashcourt wanted to keep the moves as quiet as possible, especially given Stephens and Cockerill are not the first two senior people to leave this year.

Last week Ashcourt Rowan AM director David Hanrahan left the firm to join Brewin Dolphin. Amir Ali and Abigail Bolt left Ashcourt for Brewin at the same time.

But Ashcourt's staff retention problems stretch back as far as last March, when head of the firm's Scottish operation Simon Murphy left suddenly just five months into his new role.

Rumours are rife about Ashcourt's "challenges", and it seems the firm's office culture could be to blame for the spate of exits.

According to one person familiar with the situation it is a "culturally awful" place to work, where there is a "big bully ethos and you do as you're told".

If the rumours are true, the leadership at Ashcourt needs to get out of the playground and support its staff to stay in the boardroom.

After all, any firm is only as good as the people working there.