Stratford Advisory Group, a Chicago-based institutional investment consultant, was acquired Dec. 30 by Pavilion Financial from Clark & Wamberg.
Terms were not disclosed.
Pavilion, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, also owns Canadian investment consultant Brockhouse Cooper, Montreal, and the firm likely will rebrand both firms under the Pavilion name in the second half of the year, said Daniel Friedman, COO of Stratford's new parent company.
As of June 30, Brockhouse Cooper advised on US$750 billion of client assets, and Stratford Advisory Group advised on $31 billion, according to data provided to Pensions & Investments.
Pavilion offers services including consulting, transition management and securities lending to institutional and wealth management clients.
In an interview, Mr. Friedman said Stratford was an attractive acquisition for Pavilion because it provides the company with a base in the U.S., and the firm's expertise in serving U.S. health-care, endowment and foundation clients is a good counterpoint to Brockhouse Cooper's less-specialized Canadian institutional client base. He said Brockhouse Cooper's strong global money manager research platform will be shared by Stratford, but that each firm will continue to operate independently for the foreseeable future.
“Our motivation in acquiring Stratford was to grow our overall institutional advisory business, not in cost savings,” Mr. Friedman said, noting that staff layoffs are not planned. “The two firms have developed consulting businesses in different markets, and that will be complementary to Pavilion overall,” Mr. Friedman added.
Thomas Wamberg, chairman of Clark & Wamberg, did not return a call seeking comment.
