Others were acquiring for more strategic than geographic reasons, to pick up trophy assets from consolidating groups such as Axa, or buying passive experience, such as Charles Stanley's acquisition of Evercore Pan-Asset.
A big move north
Among the most acquisitive groups in the regions during 2013 were Bellpenny and Towry and Scotland has been a popular target for both groups. Towry bought Aberdeenshire-based Conclusion Financial Planning in September, the fourth acquisition by the business so far this year. The deal bought Towry 50 clients and £15m of assets under management. At the time, Towry said Aberdeenshire represented “one of our most important client regions”.
Bellpenny acquired Glasgow-based wealth manager MGW at the start of December, having bought another Glasgow-based IFA, KM Financial Advisers, in August. Moneygate Group also agreed on the strategic importance of a Scottish presence, snapping up a significant stake in Edinburgh and Glasgow-based wealth management firm Spence and Spence, which plans to expand its operations throughout Scotland.
Elsewhere in the UK, Sanlam continued its acquisition run in 2013, acquiring Cheltenham-based financial planning firm The Country Partnership in May, which brought it around £200m in funds under management. This built on Sanlam's previous acquisitions of Principal Investment Management, Border Asset Management and IFA firm Buckles.
Earlier in the year, Sanlam had snapped up Plymouth-based Professional Connection and Bristol-based Berkeley Associates, which brought 500 clients with £71 million of assets and 450 clients with £26 million respectively.
Defined as 'non-core'
Still in the south, Whitechurch Securities chose to target the wealthy of Essex by buying Chelmsford Financial Managament – with £90m in assets under management – in January.
There was also activity in the less obviously affluent regions, such as the North East and Wales. Bellpenny was active again, acquiring Monmouthshire Independent Financial Advisers, a subsidiary of Monmouthshire Building Society. The deal brought funds under management in excess of £100m. AFH Financial Group also spotted an opportunity, acquiring Herefordshire-based IFA Robert Magee & Associates in a deal worth £486,000.
In March, Redmayne-Bentley acquired £300m of Birmingham stockbrokers Fyshe Horton Finney's (FHF) assets from administrators after the latter’s decision to go into voluntary administration. FHF had provided discretionary, advisory and execution-only services across 15 locations nationwide and ran around £300m in assets under management.
Moneygate Group was also active as part of its four-year expansion plan. The group received a capital injection from MGT Capital Investments to buy north east-based IFA Derwent Financial Solutions and lead generation business Expert Money. The group wants to grow IFA numbers from 75 to 750 advisers over the next four years.
Pace of change
But there were also those backing away from the regions, notably Brewin Dolphin. It announced in September that it would be merging away its Inverness, Hereford and Teeside offices into its Aberdeen, Cheltenham and Newcastle offices respectively. It had already closed its Swansea office in July and its Bradford branch last year. However, it has said that it expects no more closures and the existing closures were part of a 'tidy up'.
Elsewhere, acquisitions were more strategic and less focused on geography. For example, Charles Stanley bought John Redwood's Evercore Pan-Asset Capital Management as part of a move to boost the group's passive experience. Mattioli Woods bought rival Atkinson Bolton in a deal worth £6m as part of a broader expansion into wealth management started last year.
Wealth managers were also snapping up groups discarded by their parent as no longer core. Towry for example, took the opportunity to acquire Bluefin Personal Consulting, with its £500m in assets, after Axa UK decided to move away from this type of business. PSigma Investment Management also benefited from Axa's consolidation, buying the Axa Framlington’s private client business with its £380m in assets under management.
2013 was always likely to be an active year as RDR bedded down and advisers decided whether they had a future under the new regime. Consolidation may continue in 2014, but at a slower pace.
