About Adam & Company

The brainchild of Sir Iain Noble, Adam & Company was founded in Edinburgh in 1983 by a group of influential Scottish businesspeople and was the first new retail bank to be established in Scotland since 1844. Our name is a tribute to Scottish Enlightenment economist, Adam Smith, who revolutionised economic theory in 1776 with the publication of ‘An inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations’.

The aim was to provide high-quality Scottish-based banking and investment management services for wealthy clients. The prospectus at the time described the type of client we sought to serve, explaining that ‘many professional people preoccupied with the responsibility of looking after other people’s affairs cannot spare enough time to look after the minutiae of their own... a senior executive in industry working long hours and travelling extensively cannot give the attention to his own personal matters which they merit’. This statement remains as true today as it ever was - and from our head office in the heart of Edinburgh, we remain fully committed to serving the wealth management needs of busy clients and their families.

In 1993, Adam & Company joined the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group (now NatWest Group) but retained its own identity, operating independently with a separate board of directors. A number of changes to the overall structure of RBS continued into the 21st century, with Adam & Company forming a subsidiary of Coutts & Co., whilst still remaining as RBS’ private banking brand.

In October 2022, we became part of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc., a global financial services firm operating in wealth management and capital markets. This partnership enables us to draw on the Group's global resources and expertise for your benefit.

We now offer a full spectrum of wealth management services, including discretionary investment management and wealth planning. We are passionate about investing, constantly exploring new opportunities and assets which could be right for our clients.

Our wide-ranging knowledge, in-depth experience and understanding have led to our success and an investment track record that has historically outperformed benchmarks over the long term.

Since opening our doors for the first time, we have always placed great importance on developing strong personal relationships with our clients and tailoring our facilities to meet their individual needs. To this day, the relationships we build with our clients remain of the utmost importance to us. 

Our core beliefs and expertise

Consistency is vital. We believe in taking a long view, especially when it comes to relationships and making investment choices for our clients. We combine traditional service levels with modern ideas, technology, and opportunities, and we are never afraid to challenge the status quo if we believe it will benefit our clients.

Our investment managers have an average of 20 years’ experience and take a curious, questioning, and proactive approach to investment management. They are constantly searching for new themes, ideas, and ways of serving our clients, looking for a better way while anticipating potential opportunities and challenges

We take lifelong care of your wealth so you can make the most of opportunities and future-proof your financial future, including planning for later life, intergenerational wealth transfer and inheritance tax.

Adam & Company with Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management

Thanks to our relationship with Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management (CGWM), we have access to a range of asset classes and geographies, including global equities and small caps, Environmental, Social and Governance investing, and investing with us gives you access to a broad range of wealth management solutions. In the UK and Europe, CGWM have successfully grown their business and reputation over the years, and now their investment professionals manage and administer £2.5 bn of assets (as at 31 October 2024). 

Together, we have enough size and scale to deliver experience and expertise, combined with a highly developed and up-to-date technological infrastructure. This provides efficient and effective wealth management, as well as economies of scale that allow us to be price competitive. At the same time, we are small enough to provide a personal relationship-led service with direct access to our people and knowledge.

Adam & Company and CGWM are part of part of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc., a publicly traded company under the symbol CF on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Established in 1950, it is a global financial services firm, operating in wealth management and capital markets.

The Group has offices across four continents, including wealth management offices in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Canada, and Australia. Canaccord Genuity, our international capital markets division, operates in North America, the UK and Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Adam & Company is a trading name of Canaccord Genuity Wealth Limited (CGWL) in Scotland.