Discretionary fund manager Rowan Dartington is going to remain ‘whole of market’ following its acquisition by wealth manager St James’s Place.
As reported this morning (29 July), the UK’s largest wealth manager paid £34.2m for the smaller DFM, citing parallels between the firms and noting that the deal will provide SJP’s partners with the ability to meet a wider set of clients’ investment needs, including the management of existing portfolios and direct equity ownership.
Speaking to FTAdviser, Rowan Dartington’s executive chairman Graham Coxell stressed that the DFM will remain ‘whole of market’ despite its new owner having a ‘restricted’ advice lable.
Mr Coxell said: “I want to stress that it’s business as usual for us though, we will remain whole of market, with no change to IFA relationships and all the necessary Chinese walls in place.”
He explained that the brand will remain separate and autonomous within the group, offering SJP advisers an alternative to existing investment options.
Mr Coxell described the deal as a very good fit, as SJP did not previously offer discretionary services.
“We weren’t really looking to sell, but were looking at scaling up our vertically integrated model, so when they approached us it made sense.”
Once regulatory approval is granted for the move, the second half of this year will be focused on growth, with plans to scale up the business, bringing on more investment executives, building back office systems and adviser relationships.
The Bristol-based firm has assets in excess of £1bn with 10 regional offices and 100 staff. It also has an intermediary arm, Rowan Dartington Signature and owns global wealth platform Ardan International, which specialises in dealing, custody and client administration for foreign clients.
Mr Coxell added that while the firm was not looking at making any acquisitions itself, smaller DFMs will begin to be picked off in coming years, as market pressure increases.
“The top 10 DFMs in this country represent around 70 per cent of the assets held, which doesn’t seem very sustainable to me; it’s only a matter of time before the inevitable consolidation takes hold.”
peter.walker@ft.com
