While both corporate brands will remain outward-facing, Lord North Street will become a wholly owned entity of SandAire and the combined business will be headed by newly appointed chief executive Alexandra Altinger.
Subject to regulatory approval, and with undisclosed financial terms, the merged group will have 50 employees working out of offices in London, Geneva and Singapore, providing investment management services to families with large fortunes and major endowment funds.
Both firms already run several billions’ worth of assets for wealthy international families and endowments including Oxford and Cambridge Colleges.
Ambitious step forward
Alex Scott, founder of SandAire, called the merger “an exciting ambitious strategic step forward” saying it drew on shared values between the two businesses. He will assume the role of executive chairman.
William Drake and Adam Wethered, who co-founded Lord North Street, will both be appointed vice-chairman and will be shareholders of the new business, which will be majority owned by the Scott family.
Drake added: “Our two firms share a distinctive culture and philosophy regarding the provision of bespoke and unbiased investment services to wealthy families and endowments.
“The respect between us is considerable. This combination provides us with better scale to serve clients and to support our employees. It also fits our ambitions for gradual international expansion.”
Incoming CEO Altinger has worked in the global wealth and asset management industry for more than 20 years, with a large amount of time spent in Asia and the US. Most recently she worked for Lansdown Partners, prior to which she worked at Wellington Management, leading its sub-advisory and fund distribution business in Europe.