In brief

October 18, 2021

BNY Mellon has set up a new business unit within its Pershing business to design and build innovative solutions for the advisory industry. The new Pershing X unit aims to accelerate Pershing’s delivery of consumer-grade digital experiences to clients and the wider marketplace.

Pershing was launched by the company to offer custody and clearing services to wealth managers. The new unit will incubate, engineer and deliver integrated advisory capabilities to Pershing’s Wealth Solutions clients. It includes broker dealers, registered investment advisors (RIAs), and trust companies.

Clients using Pershing X’s solutions will be also offered access to enterprise offerings of BNY Mellon Wealth Management and Investment Management.

October 26, 2021

Swiss investment banking group UBS has agreed to sell its domestic banking unit and wealth management business in Spain to Madrid-based Singular Bank.

Singular Bank is purchasing the unit for an amount between €200m ($232m) and €250m, according to German newspaper Handelsblatt. The transaction is expected to be finalised in the third quarter of next year, subject to regulatory approvals.

Singular Bank will acquire all employees, client relationships, products, and services of UBS Spain’s domestic wealth management business. UBS will retain its asset management and investment banking businesses in Spain.

UBS Europe CEO Christl Novakovic said the transaction will form a “unique value proposition for employees and clients” while positioning the business for future growth opportunities.

Both parties have signed a strategic alliance to offer clients access to products and services provided by all UBS divisions. The acquisition is expected to poise Singular Bank largest independent private bank in the Spanish market with €20bn in assets and 11 offices.

Singular Bank CEO Javier Marín commented: “We are excited and proud of this operation, which represents a milestone in the transformation of the sector in Spain, creating the leading independent private bank, with first-rate human and technological capital.”

October 26, 2021

Singapore-based online trading and investment specialist Saxo Capital Markets HK has secured two new licences from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong.

The firm, which already holds SFC Type 1, 2 and 3 licences in the country, has been granted Type 4 and Type 9 (Asset Management) licences by the regulator. The Type 4 licence allows the firm to advice investors on securities, while Type 9 pertains to asset management.

Saxo Markets said the new licences will help it offer “more comprehensive services to help investors in Hong Kong”. They will also allow the firm to tap into Hong Kong’s wealth and asset management space by offering alternative to traditional asset management for investors.

Lester Chan head of wealth management at Saxo Markets, said: “Investors in Hong Kong now are very much digital-savvy. They are looking for an easy-to-use platform that can provide tailor-made solutions based on their financial situations, and can handle their needs through one single account with top-level professional assistance. That’s where Saxo is uniquely positioned.”

In February this year, Saxo rolled out its alternative investment platform, SaxoInvestor.

October 26, 2021

Schroders has agreed to acquire UK investment group River & Mercantile Group (RMG)’s UK Solutions division, which comprises its fiduciary management and derivatives businesses.

The British fund manager will pay around £230m ($316m) for the unit, which is expected to bolster its fiduciary management business. It will enable Schroders to cater to the evolving requirements of pension funds. The deal will add approximately £42bn in assets to Schroders.

Schroders Group chief executive Peter Harrison said: “This acquisition further enhances our ability to meet the increasingly complex needs of pension fund clients and is consistent with our growth strategy.

“The business brings with it a well-respected team, with a strong track record of success and is a good cultural fit with Schroders. We see significant opportunities from this partnership.”

As part of the deal, RMG CEO James Barham will join Schroders to continue to lead the Solutions division. He will report to Harrison. Schroders also said that the acquired division will maintain its existing strategic advice, investment process, integrated implementation and service model.

The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to be close in the first quarter of 2022. It follows a series of consolidation initiatives by Schroders.

October 25, 2021

India-based online investment platform Groww has raised $251m in a new funding round, tripling its valuation to $3bn in six months.

Iconiq Growth led the start-up’s latest Series E funding round, with several other investors including Alkeon, Lone Pine Capital and Steadfast also participating. Groww’s existing backers – Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, YC Continuity, Tiger Global, and Propel Venture Partners – also joined.

Founded in 2016, Groww enables retail investors to direct mutual funds, stocks, ETFs and IPOs. The company will use the proceeds to strengthen its team and bolster its infrastructure to expand its reach. It also plans to continue investing in capabilities to improve financial services accessibility and education.

Earlier this year, the investment app raised $83m in the Series D round led by Tiger Global.

Groww co-founder and CEO Lalit Keshre said: “We will continue working hard to build an iconic and trusted brand out of India. Over the last five years, we have built a product that customers love and have lowered the barriers to investing across India.”

October 25, 2021

Leading data and analytics company GlobalData has revealed its league tables for top 10 legal advisers by value and volume in Europe for the first to third quarters of 2021 in its report, Global and Europe M&A Report Legal Adviser League Tables Q1-Q3 2021.

According to the report, a total of 8,590 M&A deals were announced in the region during quarters one to three. The deal value for the region increased by 70.8% from $466bn during quarters one to three of 2020 to $796bn during the corresponding period in 2021.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and CMS emerged as the top M&A legal advisers in Europe by value and volume respectively. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised on 74 deals worth $105.8bn, leading the value chart, while CMS led the volume chart with 244 deals worth $20bn.

October 21, 2021

Raymond James has brokered a deal to buy diversified financial services business TriState Capital in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $1.1bn.

TriState Capital common stockholders will receive $6 cash and 0.25 Raymond James shares for each TriState Capital common stock share.

TriState Capital, which manages over $12bn in assets, offers banking and asset management services to individuals, corporations and municipalities. The firm’s banking franchise consists of private banking and middle market-focused commercial lending with over $10bn in loans.

Chartwell Investment Partners, the firm’s asset management franchise, manages assets of approximately $11bn primarily in equity and fixed income strategies. Raymond James will offer TriState relatively low-cost capital and a stable funding base to support its continued growth.

TriState Capital chair and CEO Jim Getz said: “Raymond James’s strong balance sheet will provide supplemental capital and liquidity to continue enabling our fast-growing and highly scalable business model to meet clients’ commercial and securities-based lending and asset management needs.”

TriState will continue to operate as a separately branded firm and as a standalone division and independently chartered bank subsidiary of Raymond James. Getz, TriState Capital Bank CEO Brian Fetterolf and Chartwell CEO Tim Riddle will retain their positions.

October 20, 2021

Scotia Global Asset Management (Scotia GAM), the wealth management arm of Bank of Nova Scotia, is reportedly launching a private assets unit.

Scotia GAM head Neal Kerr said in an interview to Bloomberg that the unit will roll out its first private debt fund by year-end.

The fund, which will be developed in partnership with external debt managers, will focus on mid-market companies in the US and Canada. It intends to land around 200 to 300 basis points in premium that these riskier and illiquid assets are expected to pay, unlike publicly traded fixed income.

“We’d be happy if this got to hundreds of millions of dollars over time,” Kerr has been quoted by the news agency as saying.

He noted that most of Scotia GAM’s investments are currently in public markets with less than 1% of total making up private assets. According to Kerr, the unit will focus on developing a suite of products, including private equity and real estate.

“What we do next will really depend on the needs of our primary investor population, but real estate is an obvious opportunity,” he said.

Jarislowsky Fraser, a subsidiary of Scotia GAM, recently partnered with Boston-based private equity firm HarbourVest Partners to gain access to private markets.

Last November, Scotia GAM strengthened its funds range with the introduction of a new suite that was targeted at clients seeking investment offerings with low carbon intensity.

In June this year, UK fund manager Schroders combined its specialist private assets investment capabilities under its new Schroders Capital brand to improve client service.

October 20, 2021

Oppenheimer Generations, the family office of former De Beers chair Nicky Oppenheimer, is setting up a unit in Singapore to access increasing affluence in Asia.

The move is expected to help the Africa-based firm to widen its exposure to Asia and drive investment between both regions.

Oppenheimer Generations ex-chief of staff Edoardo Collevecchio will lead the Singapore operations, Bloomberg reported. He will be joined by Yi Ling Ong, who was previously the investment head for Temasek’s Asian unit.

“Over the next 20 or 30 years, the synergies between Africa and Asia are going to be substantial. We want to be here at the start of that journey. We want to be here at the start of that journey,” Collevecchio has been quoted by the news agency.

Oppenheimer Generations is said to represent a branch of the dynasty that set up mining giant Anglo American in 1917.

October 18, 2021

Swiss private banking major UBS is reportedly moving to shut down its brokerage in Mexico, Latin America’s second-largest economy.

The reason behind the move is not clear, reported Reuters citing three people familiar with the matter. It is also not known whether UBS will discontinue other services it currently offers in Mexico.

UBS is expected to keep a presence in Mexico and manage operations from other regions, according to two sources.

UBS said in a statement to the news agency: “We remain fully committed to our business in Mexico.

“To ensure alignment with our global strategic priorities, we review all of our businesses regularly to identify growth opportunities and to generate operational efficiencies.”

The bank also noted that it appointed Gustavo Galvan-Duque early this year as head of wealth management for Mexico and is on the lookout for more “local talent”.