Under the terms of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval from the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority, Ardan will continue to operate independently of RL360° Life Insurance Company.
Rowan Dartington will continue to use Ardan for its international business expansion on an outsourced basis.
David Kneeshaw, chief executive of RL360°, said the acquisition is informed by the belief that platforms will play an increasingly important role in international distribution as the industry faces the challenges and opportunities of regulatory change and commission disclosure.
He said: “The UK is a perfect example of how platforms have gone from the periphery to centre stage over a 10-year period. For some time now RL360° has been thinking this could happen internationally, but there haven’t been the strong providers with the capital backing to really get centre stage.
“We see platforms as having an increasing role in international financial services and we want to be part of that world.
“We obviously bring a lot of contacts in the international space, and we will be putting money into the business during the course of 2017 to help improve its services and make it more IFA friendly.”
St James’s Place-owned Rowan Dartington recently opened its Asia-based International Division, extending its services to English-speaking advisers around the world.
Trevor Cheal, managing director, investment services at Rowan Dartington, said: “The feeling within Rowan Dartington is that we need to remain platform independent now that we are looking to be a global discretionary fund manager.
“For us the deal works well in that we will continue to be a discretionary fund manager on the Ardan platform, and with RL360°’s support we firmly believe the platform will grow and move on to greater and better things.
“The SJP deal means we have had to focus very much on our core business which is providing discretionary fund management services to the SJP partnership and into IFAs in the UK, and now globally.”
Ardan history
Rowan Dartington bought Ardan in 2014, billed as the first independent wealth platform designed exclusively for international advisers and their investors.
It provides a full-service platform for the adviser community globally which includes research tools, dealing, custody and client administration.
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