Aberdeen Asset Management Aberdeen, Scotland | $383.6 | 100% | Standard Life | $4,670 | Coming off several years of outflows caused by the industry’s shift to passive investments and overexposure to emerging markets, Aberdeen combines with Standard Life in a no‐premium merger to form Europe’s second largest asset manager. |
Fortress Investment Group New York | $69.6 | 100% | SoftBank Group | $3,300 | In a bold move typical of Chairman Masayoshi Son, SoftBank extends its interests into asset management by offering a 39% premium to buy Fortress Investment Group. |
Focus Financial Partners New York | $110.0* | 70%* | Stone Point Capital and KKR | $1,400* | The success of Focus Financial Partners’ consolidation of private wealth management firms is demonstrated by the $2 billion valuation achieved in its third refinancing by private equity. |
Guggenheim Investments’ ETF business New York | $36.7 | 100% | Invesco | $1,200 | Invesco pays for Guggenheim’s ETF business, 60% of whose assets are in smart-beta products, reinforcing its market position as second in smart beta and fourth in the global ETF business. |
Aletti Gestielle Milan | $21.1 | 100% | Anima Holding | $810 | Banco BPM, formed from the merger of Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano at the beginning of the year, sells its asset management business to Anima, an independent asset manager in which it holds a 14.3% stake. |
Old Mutual Global Investors’ Single Strategy business London | $34.3 | 100% | TA Associates and Management | $800 | Old Mutual’s plan to liquidate takes another step forward with the divestiture to private equity of the Single Strategy business of Old Mutual Wealth, led by famed investor Richard Buxton. |
OnePath Pensions and Investments Sydney | $18.7 | 100% | IOOF Holdings | $770 | The unusually named IOOF (originally International Order of Odd Fellows) becomes Australia’s second largest wealth adviser as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group exits the wealth management business. |
Sentry Investments Toronto | $15.0 | 100% | CI Financial | $615 | CI Financial underscores its position as the leading independent asset manager in the Canadian market by acquiring Sentry Investments, one of the largest independent fund groups left in Canada. |
ETF Securities’ exchange traded commodities London | $17.6 | 100% | WisdomTree | $610 | WisdomTree moves up to ninth in the global ETF ranking with this acquisition of Europe’s leader in exchange traded commodities. |
Riverstone Holdings New York | $27.2 | 12%* | Petershill Fund (Goldman Sachs) | $500* | Goldman Sachs’ Petershill Fund continues its push into private equity by buying a slice of this successful energy‐focused private investment platform. |