When Russell Barlow exited Aberdeen at the end of last year, his departure brought the curtain down on a more than 25 year career with the Edinburgh-headquartered asset manager.

Barlow, who is now chief executive of crypto assets specialist 21Shares, told Financial News the move away from traditional asset management wasn’t a decision he took lightly. But it did provide the opportunity to move into one of the most disruptive areas in financial services.