Asset management M&A picks up as boutiques set to feel the pinch

Flurry of tie-ups expected in coming months

Following the raft of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and joint initiatives among asset managers in April, further tie-ups are expected across the sector in the coming months amid warnings there may be no room for smaller firms in a consolidating marketplace.

A flurry of announcements in late April included a strategic partnership between Smith & Williamson and BennBridge to form BambuBlack Asset Management, followed by Sanlam UK's acquisition of Thesis Asset Management, which will bring its UK private client discretionary assets under management to £4.2bn. Meanwhile, last week, Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management announced it had completed its £28m acquisition of Thomas Miller Wealth Management. These tie-ups follow record-breaking M&A activity globally among asset and wealth managers in 2018, a year that saw an estimated $3.7trn in...