In brief

22 June 2021

JP Morgan Asset Management has acquired forest management and timberland investing company Campbell Global from BrightSphere Investment for an undisclosed sum.

Portland, Oregon-based Campbell has $5.3bn in assets under management and manages over 1.7 million acres worldwide with over 150 employees.

Under the agreement, all Campbell employees will remain with the firm, which will continue to be headquartered in Portland.

Campbell Global CEO John Gilleland remarked that the deal “further positions Campbell Global to serve our existing world-class clients at the highest standard”.

JP Morgan noted that the deal is line with its effort to directly impact the transition to a low-carbon economy and offer ESG-minded investment opportunities in connection with climate, conservation and biodiversity.

The deal is expected to poise the investment giant as a significant benefactor for thriving forests globally, including in 15 US states, New Zealand, Australia and Chile.

22 June 2021

UBS Global Wealth Management has joined with Invesco’s real estate investment business to roll out a global real estate investment mandate for wealth management clients.

The new offering will allow UBS clients in Switzerland and other markets in Europe and Asia to invest in Invesco’s real estate strategies, certain co-investments, or direct real estate investments globally.

The partnership will enable the company’s private clients to benefit from exposure to institutional-quality global real estate in multiple sectors and regions.

Launched to cater to growing demand from clients for income-producing strategies with a constant return profile, the offering will invest mainly in Invesco’s direct real estate strategies.

It will also invest in real estate securities for liquidity, and selected co-investments or direct investments.

21 June 2021

Goldman Sachs has reportedly teamed up with cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy Digital to start trading bitcoin futures.

This marks the first time Goldman has used a digital asset firm as a counterparty since its move to establish a cryptocurrency desk last month, reported CNBC, citing Galaxy Digital co-president Damien Vanderwilt.

Vanderwilt joined is a former Goldman partner who joined New York-based Galaxy, which was founded by Mike Novogratz. The firm, which is said to work with over 300 institutional trading counterparties, is expected to go public in the US this year. It is currently listed on Toronto Stock Exchange.

According to Vanderwilt, Goldman’s move to start trading cryptocurrency will give other banks cover to begin doing so as well.

21 June 2021

UK investment manager Quilter is reportedly planning to cut around 400 jobs as the company continues to pursue cost-cutting measures.

The company has already shed at least 200 people in areas such as financial advisory and HR, and is likely to lay off additional 400 in the future, reported City AM, citing sources aware of the matter.

The redundancies are said to be part of Quilter’s optimisation programme, which was put in place to improve its operational performance following its listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2018.

The move also aims to get rid of duplicate roles across the company, following its spin-off from Old Mutual in June 2018. It is expected to deliver around $70m in cost savings to the firm by the end of the year.

According to the sources, the company has been executing the redundancies in phases, making it hard to calculate the exact number of jobs lost so far. The layoffs are said to mainly impact employees working on the company’s platform business.

18 June 2021

Standard Chartered is reportedly aiming to double the size of its wealth unit in Asia as part of plans to tap the region’s rising affluence.

The bank plans to appoint or promote 3,000 relationship managers and wealth specialists in Asia in the next five years, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

While most of its rivals are only targeting UHNWIs in the region, Standard Chartered is said to be puting considerable focus on affluent clients in Asia, with $100,000-125,000 to invest.

Samir Subberwal, head of consumer, private and business banking at Standard Chartered Asia, told SCMP that the market for affluent and emerging affluent clients constitutes a “sweet space” for the bank.

Subberwal noted: “There are certain banks that are just true-blue private banks, who operate in $20m-25m segments. They are trying to come down in their value chain in some ways.”

17 June 2021

UK wealth manager Kingswood has brokered a deal to buy North Lincolnshire-based chartered financial planning firm Admiral Wealth Management.

Kingswood will pay a cash consideration of £4m ($5.6m) for the purchase, subject to regulatory approvals.

Under the agreement, £2m will be paid at the deal’s closure, with the remainder to be paid on a deferred basis, some of which is subject to the achievement of pre-agreed performance targets.

Led by Peter and Carol Waller and Mike Biggin, Admiral offers independent financial advice to individuals and corporates primarily in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.

The company has seven employees, including two advisers, managing approximately £100m in assets on behalf of around 600 clients.

Biggin and senior consultant Adam Harrison will lead the business as part of the Kingswood group.

17 June 2021

Investment Metrics has unveiled a factor-based change analysis tool for institutional investors, advisers and asset managers to understand style factor changes within portfolios.

The new DeltaZoom tool is a new module within Portfolio Analyzer, a factor analysis platform that analyses and identifies the causes of portfolio factor exposure changes.

It will help asset managers to offer real insights into the way investors manage their portfolios, and explain the reasons for changes in factor exposure.

DeltaZoom also allows asset owners and consultants to save time by immediately isolating and understanding changes that are relevant to them.

Investment Metrics said DeltaZoom is currently utilised by over 10 clients, including HSBC Global Asset Management, to examine how market movements, trading decisions and factor changes impact their portfolios.

17 June 2021

Alternative investment asset manager Griffin Capital Company has agreed a partnership with financial technology platform iCapital Network.

The partnership aims to expand access to Griffin’s alternative investment solutions for financial advisers, wealth management intermediaries and RIAs.

iCapital’s technology solution automates the alternative investing subscription process. It is said to bring transparency into all aspects of the investment process for advisers and HNW clients.

17 June 2021

Steward Partners Global Advisory, an independent partnership associated with Raymond James Financial Services, has turned to Goldman Sachs to launch a multi-custodial business model.

Goldman will offer clearing, custody and other related support to Steward Partners starting later this year. The development follows the launch of the company’s broker-dealer arm Steward Partners Investment Solutions (SPIS).

SPIS offers a multi-custodial business model to expand advisor investment choice and to further capitalise on the partnership’s future growth opportunities.

22 June 2021

Digital asset lending firm Tesseract has raised $25m in its Series A funding to strengthen its institutional digital asset lending offering.

The financing round was led by Augmentum Fintech with participation from venture capital firms including Concentric, Sapphire Ventures, BlackFin Capital Partners and DN Capital.

Wintermute, Coinbase Ventures and Woorton also subscribed to the round, alongside undisclosed local and international investors and strategic angels. The round was also joined by Icebreaker.vc, which made its first investment in Tesseract in 2018.

Tesseract CEO and founder Yichen Wu, who called the funding a significant milestone for the firm, claimed it is one of the largest Series A investments in Finland to date.