The finance industry briefing
The latest news, views and numbers you need to know this month
News in Numbers
€563m
Italian asset manager Nextalia has raised €563m in the first close of its newly launched private equity fund, Nextalia Private Equity.
The Milan-based firm secured the amount from a range of investors including with over 15 banks and insurance companies contributing around 45% of the overall commitments.
Approximately 20% of the commitments came from more than 10 pension funds and banking foundations, while a number of family offices and entrepreneurs provided around 35% of the overall commitments for the fund’s first closing.
Nextalia expects the final closing of the fund to reach its hard cap of €800m within the first half of next year.
19.5%
Funds under management (FuM) at British wealth manager Brewin Dolphin swelled to £56.9bn at the end of 30 September 2021, benefitting from positive net flows.
This is a 19.5% increase from the year-ago figure of £47.6bn.
Total discretionary funds grew 20.9% to £49.8bn from £41.2bn over this period.
Discretionary net flows increased to £1.9bn, of which £1.4bn was from indirect clients while £500m was from direct clients.
$1.25bn
Bridgewater Associates, founded by veteran investor Ray Dalio, has reportedly raised the equivalent of $1.25bn for its third investment fund in China.
The move is anticipated to place the firm amongst the biggest foreign private fund managers in China’s financial market, The Wall Street Journal reported citing a person familiar with the matter.
Bridgewater first launched private funds in China in 2018, after securing licence from the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC).
This licence allowed the firm to raise money from institutional and high-net-worth (HNW) individuals in China and invest it in domestic yuan-denominated securities.
According to the source, Bridgewater’s latest onshore fund, which was recently marketed to institutional investors and HNW investors, has raised CNY8bn.
It is said to be substantial compared to other funds offered by foreign managers of private fund in the country.
100%
SMC Entertainment is purchasing 100% equity interest in Genesis Financial, which specialises in fintech-driven wealth management advisory services.
The deal, valued at $45m, is expected to close on 10 December 2021.
Under the agreement, SMC will issue convertible Series B Preferred Shares worth $45m.
Genesis operates its business through two Australian regulated entities, namely Ballast Accounting and The Financial Link Group, in wealth management, tax, and accounting advisory services.
It has 23 employees in addition to 120 financial consultants, advisors, and representatives.
For the nine months to September 2021, Genesis’ Australian recorded a revenue of approximately $15.76bn.
As part of the deal, Genesis will be able to nominate two members to the board of directors.
The company’s management and executive team will be expanded to align with its new growth platform, SMC said.
100
Citigroup is reportedly planning to create 100 new roles to support its new stride into the evolving digital assets space.
The new hires will be inside the bank’s institutional business, which is seeking to grow business on the back of rising demand amongst the clients for cryptocurrency-related services.
As a part of the developments, Citi has hired Puneet Singhvi as head of blockchain and digital assets at its global markets operation.
People moves
Janus Henderson hires new head of distribution for Asia
Janus Henderson has hired Andrew Hendry as its new head of distribution for Asia (ex-Japan), effective February 2022.
Hendry is joining the British fund manager from abrdn, where he served the role of head of distribution for Asia Pacific.
In his new role, Hendry will oversee the overall strategy and management of the company’s distribution functions across Asia, excluding Japan and Australia.
His primary responsibilities will include maintaining, developing and diversifying the distribution business to ensure that the company continue to meet evolving needs of customers.
Additionally, Hendry will focus on developing strategic client partnerships across institutional and intermediary channels.
He will also collaborate with leaders from across the firm to spot and grow opportunities for business development.
Hendry will be based in Singapore and will report to Janus Henderson Global head of Distribution Suzanne Cain.
Deutsche Bank expands South-east Asia team with three key appointments
The wealth management arm of the German lender Deutsche Bank has reportedly made three strategic appointments to its South-east Asia team.
The bank has named Felicia Tan as director and team leader, Edmund Tee as vice-president, and Dita Darmawan as director, the Business Times reported.
Tan and Tee, whose appointments are effective from 22 November 2021, are working from the bank’s location in Singapore. They report to Deutsche Bank South East Asia group co-head Urs Brudermann.
Darmawan, who will assume his role on 25 November 2021, reports to Deutsche Bank South East Asia group co-head Ingrid Widjaya.
Tan joins the bank from BNP Paribas Wealth Management, where he was the director and team head.
HSBC makes tech-focused senior hires in Asia
HSBC has reportedly hired two tech-focused senior investment bankers from rival UBS as part of its strategy to ramp up Asia technology sector investment banking coverage.
The British bank has named Ajinkya Mukhopadhyay as head of technology, media and telecom for Southeast Asia and India, Bloomberg reported citing an internal memo.
Mukhopadhyay, who will be based in Singapore, has two decades of experience in investing and deal making.
He last worked as head of TMT global banking for Southeast Asia and India at UBS. Prior to that, he worked with Telstra, as head of mergers and acquisitions and international business development.
HSBC has also hired Andrew An as a managing director responsible for TMT in China. An also joins the bank from UBS.
He will continue to be based in Hong Kong.
According to the memo, both Mukhopadhyay and An will report to HSBC Global TMT co-heads Winston Cheng and Dan Bailey.
Credit Suisse hires global head of sustainable investing for asset management arm
Credit Suisse has reportedly named Jeroen Bos as global head of sustainable investing for its asset management business.
Citing an internal memo, Reuters reported that the appointment will be effective from 1 January 2022. A spokesperson for Credit Suisse confirmed the appointment to the news agency.
Bos joins Credit Suisse from NN Investment Partners in the Netherlands. Since his joining in 2018, he has held several key roles at the bank.
He was most recently the head of specialised equity & responsible investing at the firm.
UBS names ex-Morgan Stanley president as next chairman
The board of directors of UBS Group has named former Morgan Stanley veteran Colm Kelleher as the company’s new chairman.
Kelleher is to succeed Axel Weber, who is retiring from the office after completing his ten-year term limit.
Additionally, UBS has also nominated Swiss veteran banker Lukas Gaehwiler as vice-chairman. Jeremy Anderson, current UBS vice chairman, will continue in his role as a senior independent director.
Deals
ThoughtMachine lands ‘unicorn’ status with new funding
Cloud-based banking platform ThoughtMachine will join the UK’s highest-valued fintech companies following its most recent funding round.
According to Sky News, the ThoughtMachine has reached an agreement with New York-based fund Nyca Partners to lead this round. Other investors include Draper Esprit, Eurazeo, IQ Capital and Playfair Capital.
ThoughtMachine, which counts Lloyds Banking Group as one of its shareholders, is likely to raise approximately £150m ($206m) at a valuation of more than $1bn (£725m) on both a pre- and post-money basis, according to Sky News’ sources. The deal will more double the amount of capital that has been put into the business since it was formed in 2014. ThoughtMachine has previously raised £100m ($137m) of external capital, and currently has over 500 employees spread across offices in London, Melbourne, New York, Singapore and Sydney.
British Ports Association chief executive Richard Ballantyne, following UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement that the Freeports selection process will see the first sites in England set up by the end of 2021:
“This is a welcome development and by being more inclusive in terms of the number of freeports there might be, the government can now explore how to better deliver on its levelling up agenda without picking regions over each other. Coastal communities are often in areas of high deprivation and have also experienced challenges resulting from the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown so this potentially transformative policy will be welcomed across a range of suitable locations.”
Coinfirm appoints new CEO and gains $8m in funding
Coinfirm, a RegTech for digital currencies and blockchain-based finance, has appointed Dr. Mircea Mihaescu as its new chief executive officer (CEO).
Mihaescu joined the company earlier this year as executive chairman, and will be replacing Pawel Kuskowski in the CEO role. The announcement also follows the end of its Series A funding round, during which it raised $8m (£5.8m).
Form3 announces $160m funding round led by Goldman Sachs
Payment platform Form3 has announced its Series C investment funding of $160m (£115m), led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and included participation from existing investors. The company’s total fundraising is now at $220m (£159m).
Form3’s other investors include Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, Barclays, Mastercard, 83North and Draper Esprit.
Michael Mueller, chief executive at Form3 said: “More and more financial institutions are placing mission critical processes onto a platform. Cloud-native technology is now proven at an industrial scale and confidence is high and growing. This announcement marks the beginning of a global roll out for Form3, and the funding required to tackle the next big challenges in payments; how should payments become smart – uniquely possible with our cloud native technology and an exciting new phase to come.”
Indonesian wealth tech firm Bareksa secures investment from Grab
Indonesia-bases digital investment and wealth tech firm Bareksa has secured an undisclosed investment from ride-hailing giant Grab as part of its Series C financing round.
The strategic partnership will allow OVO-backed Bareksa to extend its investment offering to Grab’s network of users, partners.
Ovo, which invested in the firm in 2019 as part of its Series B funding round, will be handling payments related to the new partnership.
Bareksa was founded in 2013 as an online mutual fund marketplace. It was later authorised by the Indonesian finance ministry to sell Indonesian government bonds online.
The partnership with Grab is expected to enable Bareksa further integrate into OVO’s ecosystem.
The integration is expected to propel the development of retail investment and wealth management space in Indonesia.
Quilter offloads advisory arm to MKC Wealth
Quilter has divested Lighthouse Carrwood, its advice arm, to consolidator MKC Wealth for an undisclosed amount.
Carrwood will now be rebranded as MKC Wealth.
As part of the deal, which concluded on 1 November 2021, Carrwood employees will join MKC Wealth.
Carrwood was acquired by Quilter as part of its takeover of the broader Lighthouse Group in 2019. It has been part of Quilter Financial Planning unit since then.