Reyl Agrees To Sell Investment House Stake To Italian Bank

Tom Burroughes

24 November 2017

Geneva-headquartered Reyl & Cie Holding, the private bank and financial group, has entered a binding agreement to sell its 45 per cent stake in said in a statement yesterday.

RAM AI’s partners, Thomas de Saint-Seine, Maxime Botti and Emmanuel Hauptmann will retain significant stakes in RAM and will remain committed to its development for at least the next 10 years, the bank said.

Founded in 2007, RAM AI is an active and alternative asset manager offering a range of fundamental systematic equity and tactical fixed-income funds to an array of professional and institutional investors. As of 31 October 2017, RAM AI managed assets of $4.9 billion across 14 funds. (For comparison, Reyl oversees SFr15 billion in AuM ($15.3 billion)).

“This partial exit fits well within REYL Group’s strategic plan. It will allow it to deploy significant capital in a number of key areas, including the implementation of an ambitious digital strategy around its wealth management unit and the build-up of its fast-growing corporate advisory and unlisted asset management franchises,” François Reyl, managing director of Reyl Holding, said.

“It , the global wealth management brand of Crédit Agricole Group, agreed to by more than two-thirds (67.67 per cent) of Italian wealth management firm Banca Leonardo. Eventually, the group may own all of the Italian firm. The deal added €5.9 billion ($6.82 billion) of assets under management, based on figures as of 30 June this year.

Ray Soudah, founder of corporate advisory firm MilleniumAssociates, has told this publication that the next 12 months could see one of the big players in wealth management vanish as a result of industry consolidation - a trend that is far from complete - and cost-cutting will intensify.