Morgan Stanley has announced that it has reached an agreement to sell Quilter Holdings, its standalone UK mass affluent business, to Citigro...

Morgan Stanley has announced that it has reached an agreement to sell Quilter Holdings, its standalone UK mass affluent business, to Citigroup. Terms of the transaction, which is scheduled to close during the first quarter 2007, were not disclosed. “This sale is the result of our strategy to focus our UK wealth management effort on the high net worth and ultra high net worth market segments,” said James Gorman, president of Morgan Stanley’s Global Wealth Management Group. “We believe that there is a significant opportunity to leverage Morgan Stanley’s institutional franchise in these markets and this transaction will enable us to further invest in and grow our international Private Wealth Management business.” Morgan Stanley’s PWM business in the UK currently manages in excess of £10 billion for high net worth and ultra high net worth clients.