Santander Global Advisors will be shut down by the end of January...

Santander Global Advisors will be shut down by the end of January. Parent Banco Santander Central Hispano told the manager on Monday it had chosen to pull its asset management business to Madrid, Spain, said Peter Braun, director of institutional marketing and sales for the Boston-based manager, which opened its doors in January 1998. Forty-three staff members were laid off. The firm had $1.5 billion under management, he said. Reading a statement from a BSCH executive, Mr. Braun said that the decision to close Santander Global Advisors was not a reflection on the company but a result of the merger between Banco Santander and Banco Central Hispano earlier this year. Santander Global Advisors had one, $100 million U.S. pension fund client, which he declined to name. About $800 million of the manager’s assets are mutual funds for European and Latin American clients, he said, adding that those assets will be run from Madrid. Another $600 million in assets were from MetLife, which had taken a 25% stake in the firm. Mr. Braun said no decision had been reached on where those assets will land.