BT Financial Group's Chris Freeman announces retirement

BT Financial Group announced today that long-serving General Manager of Adviser Distribution Chris Freeman is retiring. Mr Freeman will begin stepping down from his duties in the latter half of 2015, however will stay on part-time as a consultant for a further 2 years.

As he transitions to retirement, Mr Freeman will continue to focus on maintaining BT’s strong client and industry relationships. He will also act as a BT ambassador at client conferences and industry events, ensuring his trademark industry insights and sense of humour will continue to enrich the financial services industry.

“One of Chris’ incredible strengths is the deep and enduring relationships he has built within the financial services industry over the past 25 years,” said John Shuttleworth, General Manager, BT Financial Group Platforms & Operations.

Mr Freeman has held several roles at BT including Head of Sales and Joint Head of the equities division for Bankers Trust Investment Bank; State and National Sales Manager for BT Funds Management; Head of BT Wrap, and his current position General Manager of Adviser Distribution.

“Since BT Wrap launched in 1997, he has been instrumental in building an adviser community that extends beyond BT’s employed and aligned advisers, resulting in a market-leading position in both platform functionality and market share,” said Mr Shuttleworth.

To recognise Mr Freeman’s legacy, BT will create a new award for employees, honouring his immense contribution to the industry and BT.

“The ‘BT Ambassador’ award will be an annual award which recognises the person who best represents our organisation externally,” said Mr Shuttleworth.

Chris Freeman said he was proud of his time at BT and was pleased the industry had continued to evolve and strive to meet the challenges.

“BT has always been a place of meritocracy which has made the last 25 years a dynamic, fast-paced and utterly enjoyable experience,” he said. “Launching BT Wrap in 1997 was a real turning point for the industry and I’m excited to see BT’s Panorama take advisers’ relationships with their clients to the next level.”

BT Financial Group has commenced an internal and external search to find a suitable candidate for the vacant Head of Adviser Distribution role. Mr Freeman will be assisting with the transition and recruitment of this role and will remain in charge of Adviser Distribution until this process is complete.