Söderberg & Partners Group has acquired stakes in three financial advice firms, making them the Swedish wealth manager’s first major investments in the UK.
The group acquired majority stake in the independent financial advisory company Timothy James & Partners (TJP) from current owner Waverton Investment Management Group.
TJP is an independent financial advice firm established in 1995. The firm provides best-in-class holistic wealth management and tailored financial solutions for its clients.
It will remain an independent financial adviser under the Söderberg & Partners company umbrella.
Söderberg & Partners CEO and co-founder Gustaf Rentzhog welcomed the acquisition of Timothy James & Partners, which is subject to regulatory approval.
He said: “We’re not in the business of buying and consolidating. We believe in backing entrepreneurs with a clear vision and helping them realise their goals. That is exactly what we see in Tim Whiting and the entire team at TJP.
“Entrepreneurs with a clear vision of what kind of values they want to create for their clients, and a hunger to constantly improve and go beyond what is expected from them.
“They put their clients first, which makes them a perfect match with Söderberg & Partners values. TJPs’ focus on media and sport is also a valuable complement to our current wealth management offerings tailored for niche clients, and we are proud to be partnering with them.”
Timothy James & Partners founder and MD Tim Whiting added: “We have spent the last six months getting to know Söderberg & Partners and we have found Gustaf and his team to be personable, dynamic and all in all a great cultural fit for our business with strong client-first mentality and a focus on superb customer service.
“With their support we can build TJP to be a flagship for independent advice in the UK and together we will create a platform which offers functional up to date technology. This partnership enables future growth where our target is to acquire London IFA’s who want to ensure their clients receive bespoke personal independent advice.”
Commenting on the acquisition, Waverton Investment Management Group chairman David Rosier said: “Over the last three years Waverton has made and continues to make huge progress in terms of delivering our five-year plan.
“It has become increasingly apparent that the TJP business has aspirations for its brand that are not aligned with ours.
“I am therefore delighted that we have identified Söderberg to partner with TJP and to take the business to the next stage of its growth”.
Söderberg & Partners has also taken a minority stake in advice firms Dartington Wealth Management based in Cambridge and Atherton York (Chartered Financial Planners) in North London.
The Swedish wealth manager said these investments mark an important step in its intention to invest in UK based IFAs as announced earlier this year.
In June, Söderberg & Partners raised £170.9m to fund its ambitious international expansion. It said at the time that the cash will be used to support its ongoing expansion in new markets particularly in the UK and Spain.
The new capital was provided by global investment firm KKR, an existing minority investor in Söderberg & Partners since 2019.
Söderberg & Partners is a major investment manager in Scandinavia and administers over £60bn of clients’ investments. It employs 3,000 people in seven countries.
In February, the group launched its UK platform offering to provide financial advisers with technology led platform solutions.
The UK platform business will be conducted under the sub brand Söderberg & Partners Wealth Management.
It will provide advisers with access to over 4,000 funds that will be supported by Söderberg & Partners’ in-house investment research team.
Two former Novia executives were hired to run the UK platform. Bill Vasilieff, former chief executive of Novia, took on the role of chairman of the board for the UK company and Nick Raine, former chief operating officer for Novia, took on the chief executive role.
