Charles Stanley Looks To Expand With Acquisition

Tom Burroughes

15 November 2013

UK-listed , which earlier yesterday reported half-year figures, has exchanged contracts to acquire the entire issued share capital of Evercore Pan Asset Capital Management, the business that includes senior UK politician John Redwood.

Evercore Partners, a US-based corporate advisory boutique, has sold their 68 per cent of the issued share capital in the deal and the Evercore name will cease to be associated with Pan Asset. Going forward it is expected that Pan Asset will be integrated within Charles Stanley’s funds division.

The acquisition is for an undisclosed initial cash consideration, with further considerations over the next 12 and 18 months subject to performance of Pan Asset’s overall performance, a statement from Charles Stanley said.

The deal is conditional upon change of control permission being granted by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Charles Stanley said they expect to achieve some cost cuts by eliminating “duplicated systems costs and utilising Charles Stanley’s sales and distribution network”.

“Pan Asset has been operating near break-even and these actions are expected to make Pan Asset immediately profitable and leverage its considerable operational gearing,” the statement said.

Pan Asset is a business founded in 2007 and serves clients including wealthy families, as well as charities, pensions and universities. At the end of October it had £593 million ($936.59 million) of assets under management. Charles Stanley had £18.5 billion of client funds under management and administration (at 30 September).

“The acquisition of Pan Asset will complement the company’s existing distribution channels by broadening Charles Stanley’s expertise and product offering into the area of passives and in particular we foresee opportunities to enhance our increasing offering to the financial advisor market-place,” Mike Lilwall, director of Charles Stanley, said in the statement.

“Further opportunities include the provision of cost effective pension products by combining the Pan Asset active management process with Charles Stanley and Charles Stanley Direct’s services. This includes a full range of SIPP and ISA wrappers together with traditional investment accounts,” he continued.

Evercore Pan Asset

Evercore Pan Asset was founded in 2007 by Redwood and Christopher Aldous. Redwood, a former UK cabinet minister and policy advisor in Downing Street, is also an experienced investment industry figure; he has held senior roles at Robert Fleming and NM Rothschild in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then he has been a pension trustee, investment committee member for an Oxford College, chairman of an investment company and a non-executive director of a hedge fund and an investment Trust.

Aldous has been involved in wealth management since joining Cazenove in 1981 He has since been a Director of Barclays de Zoete Wedd, an Executive Director of UBS and a managing director of Robertson Stephens, the US technology investment bank. He co-founded Absolute Fund Management in 2001, where he managed a fund of hedge funds and was CEO until 2007.