LGT has completed its acquisition of Abrdn’s discretionary fund manager (DFM) business following regulatory approval.
In February 2023, LGT announced an agreement with Abrdn to acquire its DFM business in the UK and Jersey for £140m.
LGT Wealth Management, the UK-based wealth manager and part of LGT now takes on the client relationships of the business and its 140 employees.
Following this acquisition, LGT Wealth Management’s assets under management rose by £6bn to over £28bn and increased its UK footprint with additional offices in Birmingham and Leeds.
LGT Wealth Management is also planning to grow its existing locations in London, Edinburgh, Bristol and Jersey.
LGT Wealth Management CEO Ben Snee said: “The completion of this transaction marks another milestone in LGT Wealth Management’s journey from inception in 2008 to a leading wealth manager in the UK today.
“We are confident that our commitment to excellent client service and conviction-based investing will drive further growth and support our clients’ ambitions.”
LGT chairperson H.S.H. Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein added: “The UK is one of LGT’s key European markets and LGT Wealth Management is well-positioned to capture the opportunities available for further organic growth.
“Clients want stable partners who can combine long-term vision with an entrepreneurial approach. LGT’s focus on high performance and sustainability ap-peals to high-net-worth private individuals, financial advisers and institutional clients in the UK and around the world.”
On 8 August, in its half year results Abrdn’s financial advice business reported net outflows of £600m due to tough “market conditions” and changed customer habits from the cost of living.
Abrdn also said the outflows were partly due to the short-term impact in H1 2023 from the “technology upgrade” of its Adviser Experience Programme in February.
Initially the Adviser Experience Programme was launched in May 2021 to enhance technology across its advice business.
However, tough market conditions also weighed down on Abrdn as it said: “If 2022 was one of the hardest investing years in living memory, 2023 is shaping up to be equally challenging.”
Abrdn pointed out geopolitical risk, high inflation and credit risk all added to its problems.
