The name of UK-based Rensburg Fund Management may eventually vanish after it is taken over by Franklin Templeton Global Investors (UK), an arm of US-based Franklin Resources, a top executive told journalists yesterday.

Franklin is buying RFM, which is currently owned by Investec, the UK-listed bank, for a cash consideration of £45 million (around $71.9 million). The deal is expected to complete in early 2011. Meanwhile, in an entirely separate announcement, the US firm announced it was taking a minority stake in a US investment house called Pelagos.

The name of Rensburg is a familiar one in the UK’s wealth management industry and it was not clear after a conference call whether the Rensburg Fund Management name will endure after the transaction is complete. The issue of whether to retain a name or rebrand completely after mergers and acquisitions can be a vexed one in wealth management.

Asked about the branding of Rensburg-run funds, Jamie Hammond, who is managing director Europe, Franklin Templeton, said: “We will be looking at branding and what makes sense….We will continue to use the [Rensburg] brand during the period of transition. In time it may make sense to transition to the Franklin name.”

The acquisition is a “neat fit” for Franklin Templeton because the firm has been on the hunt for a strong, UK-focused equity fund management business, Hammond told journalists in a conference call. He said there are unlikely to be job losses as a result of the deal.

“We found that when the opportunity came up to look at Rensburg Fund Management that it provided missing pieces for a product range in the UK,” he continued.

Rensburg, as a name in the financial services industry, dates back to the 19^th Century; the business became part of Rensburg Sheppards, the brokerage and wealth management house, in the noughties, which in turn was acquired by Investec. However, Investec has decided to spin off some operations, such as the Rensburg fund management business.

Hammond said wealth management clients of Rensburg’s funds will be pleased at the move, as Franklin Templeton has a large distribution and support network in 35 countries. “I think they hopefully will be comfortable with the Franklin Templeton brand name and be comfortable with what we’re doing,” he said.

Later yesterday, Franklin Resources announced that it has entered into a strategic relationship with Pelagos Capital Management, acquiring a 20 per cent equity stake in the firm.

Pelagos, an independent investment advisor, was founded in 2005 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.