London-headquartered wealth manager Dolfin has agreed to acquire Falcon Private Wealth, the UK business of Swiss-based Falcon Private Bank.
The transaction is expected to close in May 2019 at the latest. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Falcon is implementing its strategic plan and will concentrate its efforts on the main operations in Zurich and Dubai, which has led the firm to withdraw from the UK market. But Falcon Private Bank will continue to provide custodian services to its UK clients.
Dolfin will retain Falcon’s existing relationship managers, and clients will keep their staff contacts and retain the same custody and fee arrangements.
Falcon Private Bank, chief executive, Martin Keller, said: “We are focused on the delivery of our strategic priorities.
“While I regret our withdrawal from the UK market, this is the right step for Falcon to take.”
The growth of Dolfin
Dolfin, which will become an external asset manager to Falcon Private Bank, will expand its client base and add about $1bn (£774m, €883m) of client assets.
Clients will be able to access Dolfin’s range of wealth management solutions, private investment opportunities and other ancillary services such as payment accounts and cards.
Denis Nagy, chief executive of Dolfin, said: “Falcon has a strong client base in the UK and we’re proud that we will be able to give them an extended suite of services through our offices in London and Malta – including custody, execution and investment management.”
In December, International Adviser interviewed Dolfin’s head of wealth management, Nick McCall, who said the firm was looking to expand its wealth management arm.
Prior to this deal, it had around 60 private advisers globally and manages around $1.7bn in client assets overall as a firm.
