Buckmaster & Moore
Buckmaster & Moore was a London stockbroking partnership that developed from a private-client brokerage into a prominent discretionary investment-management and institutional securities business before its acquisition by Credit Suisse Group in 1987.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Buckmaster & Moore was a London stockbroking and investment-management partnership associated with the City of London from the late nineteenth century until its dissolution in the 1990s. Walter Selby Buckmaster was admitted to the London Stock Exchange in 1895 and traded with several partners before forming the partnership associated with Charles James Eglantine Armytage Moore around 1905. Other early associates included Douglas Lyon Holms and Harry Walter Franklin, whose partnership arrangements were dissolved in 1908. The firm initially concentrated on private-client stockbroking. It operated from prominent City addresses, including 64 Cornhill and later 52 Bishopsgate, and used the identifying mark B&M on Perfined Contract Revenue Stamp documentation. Its clientele and partnerships connected it with British political, academic, diplomatic and sporting circles. Among its clients was the economist John Maynard Keynes, who was also bursar of King's College, Cambridge. Keynes and the firm's partner Oswald Toynbee Falk formed a currency-speculation syndicate; Keynes suffered a major loss in 1920 after using borrowed money, an episode later discussed in accounts of his life and investment activities. The partnership attracted a succession of notable figures. Oswald T. Falk, a former Treasury official, became a senior partner and developed an influential approach to economics and investment analysis. Francis James Rennell Rodd, later the 2nd Baron Rennell, joined after service in diplomacy and at the Bank of England before leaving in 1929 to become managing director of Morgan, Grenfell & Co. Maurice Bonham-Carter, a Liberal politician, civil servant and cricketer, was also a partner. The firm additionally employed or associated with individuals who later became prominent in public life and academia, including Frank Pakenham, later the 7th Earl of Longford, and the mathematician J. H. C. Whitehead. By the 1930s, Buckmaster & Moore was an established partnership with a substantial roster of partners. Its business expanded beyond conventional dealing for private investors. During the 1970s, it was described as one of the City’s largest managers of discretionary funds, at a time when discretionary management was still relatively uncommon. The firm managed portfolios for private clients as well as institutions, including university colleges, religious organizations and insurance-related clients. Discretion allowed its managers to make investment decisions without seeking approval for every transaction, giving the firm a comparatively powerful role in the administration of client portfolios. The 1970s also brought organizational and strategic change. According to recollections from former partner Mike Shemilt, senior partner Ian Macpherson was sidelined in an internal transition and a younger group of partners assumed greater influence. The firm recruited new partners from a wider range of backgrounds and sought to build an institutional research and execution business alongside its established investment-management activities. This reflected broader changes in the City, including the weakening of traditional class barriers and the emergence of more sophisticated investment products and professional practices. In the early 1980s, Buckmaster & Moore still operated within the traditional culture of pre-Big Bang London stockbroking. Accounts of the period describe early morning meetings, extensive hospitality, manual or limited electronic market-information systems, and a working environment shaped by practices that later disappeared or were substantially restricted. Trading conditions changed rapidly as the City moved toward the 1986 deregulation known as Big Bang, which increased competition and encouraged consolidation among stockbrokers and financial institutions. Credit Suisse Group acquired Buckmaster & Moore in 1987. After the acquisition, the business was renamed and reorganized into broking and fund-management operations rather than continuing as an independent partnership under its historic identity. The company was ultimately dissolved in November 1996. It is therefore best understood as a historical British financial-services firm rather than an active consumer brand or continuing standalone institution.
History
Buckmaster & Moore emerged from the London Stock Exchange career of Walter Selby Buckmaster, who was admitted to the exchange in 1895. After trading with several partners, Buckmaster formed the partnership associated with Charles James Eglantine Armytage Moore around 1905. Both men had attended Repton School and were prominent sportsmen: Buckmaster was a Cambridge polo captain and an Olympic medal-winning polo player, while Moore played cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and appeared in first-class competition. The firm built a private-client stockbroking practice in the City of London. Its recorded offices included 64 Cornhill and, later, 52 Bishopsgate. Its B&M identification mark appeared on Perfined Contract Revenue Stamp documents. The partnership’s social and professional network included politicians, civil servants, diplomats, economists and academics. Partners included Oswald T. Falk, Francis James Rennell Rodd and Maurice Bonham-Carter. Falk later became a senior partner and developed a strong interest in economics. Rodd, who had served in diplomacy and at the Bank of England, left the firm in 1929 and subsequently became managing director of Morgan, Grenfell & Co. John Maynard Keynes was a client of the firm. Keynes and Falk formed a syndicate to speculate on currency movements, but Keynes lost his fortune in 1920 after borrowing from his father and Falk. The relationship is significant because it links the firm to the investment activities of one of the twentieth century’s most influential economists, although Buckmaster & Moore itself remained a brokerage and investment-management partnership rather than an economic research institution. The firm continued through the interwar period and listed a sizeable group of partners by February 1932, including Oswald T. Falk, Walter S. Buckmaster, C. J. E. Armytage Moore, Ian Macpherson, Arthur J. Beamish, Maurice Bonham-Carter, J. R. Ralli and R. N. M. Murray. Other people associated with the firm included Frank Pakenham, later the 7th Earl of Longford, and the mathematician J. H. C. Whitehead. Its later development was especially notable for discretionary fund management. In the 1970s, former partner Mike Shemilt recalled that Buckmaster & Moore was one of the largest managers of discretionary funds in the City. It managed portfolios for private individuals and institutional clients, including university colleges, religious organizations and insurance-related institutions. The ability to make investment decisions without obtaining approval for every trade was still relatively new, and the firm applied the model to institutional funds as well as private accounts. During the 1970s, the partnership also experienced an internal generational transition. Ian Macpherson, described as an ageing senior partner in later recollections, was sidelined as younger partners gained influence. The firm recruited partners from a broader range of social and professional backgrounds and attempted to develop an institutional research business in which investment ideas would be sold to major institutions in connection with substantial buy and sell orders. This expansion took place during a broader transformation of the City, as traditional social hierarchies weakened and new investment vehicles and professional practices became more important. Recollections of the early 1980s portray Buckmaster & Moore within the pre-Big Bang culture of London stockbroking. Morning meetings began early, staff catering was routine, and market information was monitored with relatively basic technology compared with modern electronic markets. Alcohol and tobacco were common elements of workplace culture in the industry, and trading activity and price changes were much less frequent than in later decades. The 1986 deregulation of the London market increased competitive pressure and helped make consolidation more likely. Credit Suisse Group acquired Buckmaster & Moore in 1987. The firm was renamed and divided into broking and fund-management operations. Its historic partnership identity did not survive as an independent business, and the company was dissolved in November 1996. No evidence in the supplied sources indicates that the firm remains active under its original name.
- 1996
Company is dissolved
[1]Buckmaster & Moore was dissolved in November 1996.
- 1987
Acquisition by Credit Suisse Group
[1]Credit Suisse Group acquired Buckmaster & Moore and reorganized the business into broking and fund-management operations.
- 1986
London market deregulation changes the competitive environment
[2]The City’s Big Bang deregulation altered the structure and competitive dynamics of the London securities industry shortly before the firm’s acquisition.
- 1970
Discretionary management becomes a major business
[1]Former partner recollections describe Buckmaster & Moore as one of the City’s largest discretionary fund managers during the 1970s.
- 1932
Partnership roster is recorded
[4]A London Gazette notice recorded a broad group of Buckmaster & Moore partners, illustrating the firm’s established partnership structure.
- 1920
Keynes suffers major currency-speculation losses
[1]John Maynard Keynes lost his fortune after currency speculation conducted through a syndicate formed with Oswald T. Falk and financed partly through borrowing.
- 1908
Earlier Holms and Franklin partnership is dissolved
[1]The partnership involving Douglas Lyon Holms and Harry Walter Franklin was dissolved as the Buckmaster and Moore organization developed.
- 1905
Buckmaster and Moore partnership begins
[1]The partnership between Walter Buckmaster and Charles Armytage Moore began around this period, creating the firm later known as Buckmaster & Moore.
- 1903
Charles Armytage Moore is admitted to the Stock Exchange
[1]Charles James Eglantine Armytage Moore was admitted to the Stock Exchange before becoming associated with Buckmaster in the partnership formed around 1905.
- 1895
Walter Buckmaster is admitted to the Stock Exchange
[1]Walter Selby Buckmaster was admitted to the London Stock Exchange and began the brokerage career from which the later partnership developed.
Products and positioning
A traditional City of London stockbroker that became particularly associated with discretionary portfolio management for private clients and institutions, while later attempting to expand its institutional research and securities business.
Brokerage
Private-client stockbroking
The firm’s original core activity was traditional stockbroking for private clients. It executed securities transactions and provided investment-related services through the relationship-based model typical of London partnerships before electronic markets and modern execution platforms.
Investment management
Discretionary portfolio management
Buckmaster & Moore became particularly associated with discretionary management, allowing its professional managers to make buying and selling decisions for clients without obtaining authorization for every transaction. The firm applied this model to private individuals and institutional portfolios, including portfolios linked to academic, religious and insurance organizations.
Institutional securities
Institutional research and securities dealing
During the 1970s, younger partners sought to develop a parallel institutional business based on distributing research ideas to large institutions and handling resulting buy and sell orders. This initiative complemented, rather than replaced, the firm’s discretionary investment-management operations.
Brand decisions
1987
Accept acquisition by Credit Suisse GroupM&ABackground
London’s securities industry was undergoing major competitive and structural changes following the 1986 deregulation, increasing pressure on traditional independent partnerships.
Action taken
Credit Suisse Group acquired Buckmaster & Moore and reorganized its activities into broking and fund-management operations.
Aftermath
The historic partnership identity was replaced by the acquiring group’s organization, and the company was eventually dissolved in 1996.
1970
Expand discretionary management and institutional researchStrategyBackground
The City was moving toward more sophisticated investment vehicles and a less rigid professional culture. Buckmaster & Moore already managed discretionary portfolios and sought to broaden that capability while building a research-led institutional securities business.
Action taken
Younger partners were brought into the firm, the discretionary-management business was retained and expanded, and the partnership attempted to sell research ideas to major institutions in connection with larger orders.
Aftermath
The firm remained a significant discretionary manager during the 1970s and early 1980s, but later became part of Credit Suisse Group after the structural changes surrounding Big Bang.
Sources5 sources
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