- August 23, 2007 - SEC Acts Against Investment Manager Over Client Assets
The US Securities & Exchange Commission has filed a civil suit against Sentinel Management Group alleging improper commingling of assets and using clients' securities to obtain more than $500 million in leverage financing.
Chicago-based Sentinel, which invests for managed-futures funds, hedge funds and high net worth individuals, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on 17 August, blaming the credit crunch in the credit markets. Four days earlier it had informed clients that it was halting all redemptions.
- August 16, 2007 - Morley Boosts European Business Development
Morley, the UK-based asset management business of the Aviva insurance group, has appointed Spiro Andreadakis and Laura Suárez Pajares to its European Business Development team, as head of European sales administration and Spanish client operations manager respectively.
Mr Andreadakis, who has over 20 years of fund management experience at both UBS and Fidelity, will oversee European distribution activities in Morley's European offices - Milan, Madrid and Frankfurt – and coordinate local client operations and sales administration, as well as Morley's interaction with Aviva Funds Services in. .
- August 15, 2007 - Five Wall St Firms To Launch Trading Platform
Five of Wall Street's biggest banks have announced they are setting up a system to trade privately placed stocks.
The Open Platform for Unregistered Securities, or OPUS-5, will be designed to ease trading for privately sold securities in the 144A equities market. It will target companies looking to raise capital while avoiding the scrutiny and rules imposed on publicly listed shares.
- August 6, 2007 - Executive Moves July 2007
International
Former US Trust chief executive, Peter Scaturro has been appointed global head of Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management.
Mr Scaturro left US Trust before it was acquired by Bank of America from Charles Schwab, a deal that closed on 1 July 2007.
Mr Scaturro left Citigroup, where he ran 98 private bank offices in 38 countries, in 2004 after regulators forced the shutdown of its private bank in Japan, and was given the chief executive role at US Trust in 2005.
- July 23, 2007 - US Giant Plans Singapore Spree
Bank of New York Mellon, now the world's largest custodian of investor assets, plans a 25 per cent boost to its staff strength in Singapore from 210 currently.
“Each time we win a mandate in Asia, we typically increase our Singapore staff strength in direct proportion,” Jai Arya, president of BoNY Mellon in Singapore told The Straits Times.
BoNY Mellon has assets under custody of $20 trillion worldwide and $400 billion under custody and administration in Asia.
- July 20, 2007 - BoNY Mellon on Track With Q2 Results
Income from continuing operations in the second quarter for the former Bank of New York rose 15 per cent to $448 million and net income fell 1 per cent to $445 million. Fees from securities servicing rose 19 per cent to $1. 09 billion.
- July 17, 2007 - BoNY Mellon Taps Wells Fargo for Southern Director
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation appointed former Wells Fargo senior vice president Tracy Nickl to head the firm’s Southern California network which comprises offices in Los Angeles, Glendale, Century City and Newport Beach.
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation was a wealth management business created last month as part of the $17. 6 billion acquisition of Pittsburgh-based Mellon Financial by The Bank of New York.
- July 12, 2007 - SunTrust Private Wealth Comes Top in US Wealth Poll
Wealthy consumers with a minimum net worth of $5 million and $200,000 annual income rated SunTrust Private Wealth Management the most prestigious wealth management firm among regional banks in the 2007 Luxury Brand Status Index survey from the New York-based Luxury Institute.
Wilmington Trust Wealth Advisors and BB&T Wealth Management were a close second and third, respectively.
"Based on feedback from wealthy consumers and industry experts, this year for the first time, we segmented the wealth management firms among three groups: private banks, commercial banks and regional banks," sai.
- July 9, 2007 - The Winners & Losers in Recent US Wealth Management M&A Activity
The completion, on 2 July, of both Bank of America’s $3. 3 billion acquisition of US Trust Corporation and Bank of New York’s $16. 5 billion takeover of Pittsburgh-based Mellon Financial, was a red letter day for the US financial services industry.
- July 6, 2007 - Mellon Buys Out ABN Amro in Custody JV
US-based Mellon Bank is to buy ABN Amro’s 50 per cent share in ABN Amro Mellon Global Securities Services, the joint venture company established by the shareholders in 2003 to provide global custody and related services to institutions outside North America.
The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter at which time ABN Amro Mellon will become a part of the newly-merged Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
