NewSmith Capital Partners, the UK asset management and advisory boutique set up three years ago by former senior Merrill Lynch bankers, is opening a US office and has hired two former colleagues from the Wall Street bank to run it.

NewSmith, which was founded by five partners including Michael Marks, Paul Roy and Stephen Zimmerman, has opened offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo since its London launch. The US office will give it a global presence. It has hired Jeff Hughes and Sue Crosby to run the operation. Hughes spent more than 30 years at Merrill Lynch and was most recently chairman of Canada and Latin America for the bank's global markets and investment banking unit before leaving in March last year. Crosby is a former client marketing specialist and was most recently head of the endowment and foundation practice at Merrill Lynch. His role will involve identifying new investors and distribution channels, particularly using her contacts in the US university endowment field. The hires bring the number of partners at NewSmith to 50, marking a ninefold increase since it was launched. The US office is NewSmith's second this year after the group set up a Tokyo operation in January.