Former UBS Canadian Wealth Chief Launches Private Equity Firm

Wendy Spires

26 April 2012

Grant Rasmussen, who up until the summer of last year was chief executive of UBS’ Canadian wealth management unit, has launched a new private equity firm, Bloomberg reports.

Rasmussen’s departure from the Swiss banking giant emerged in May 2011, when UBS merged its Canadian wealth and asset management divisions under the leadership of Marcel Larochelle. Sam Sivaragan, managing director and head of private wealth management in Canada, as well as Graeme Harris, executive director of corporate communications, also departed.

Rasmussen’s new firm, GreatWave, is based in Toronto and invests in firms at least three years old and which have gross revenues in excess of C$1 million ($1.02 million), the report said.

GreatWave is looking for businesses “who have already got past proof of concept, and they’ve got clients and sales, but they haven’t figured out how to really leverage the model,” Rasmussen was quoted as having said.

Recent data has tended to show a recovery in the private equity sector. Some 84 per cent of investors that are planning to actively commit to funds in 2012 will consider forming new relationships this year, while 46 per cent will consider investing in a fund before it holds a first close, Preqin said in February.

In its latest set of figures, Preqin data showed that funds primarily focusing on North America raised the most capital of those closed during the first quarter of 2012, with 67 funds closing having raised a total of $27.3 billion. Europe-themed funds that closed raised an aggregate of $15.1 billion, with 23 funds targeting the region reaching a final close this quarter. A total of 26 Asia and Rest of World-focused funds closed having raised a total of $8.2 billion.