M and A
Fiduciary Trust International Finalizes Latest Acquisition
The acquisition adds to another that the firm, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, has completed in recent weeks. The move highlights how industry M&A continues, albeit at a slower pace, during the pandemic.
Fiduciary Trust International has finalized its purchase of The Pennsylvania Trust Company, a business with about $4 billion in assets under management.
FTI first announced its agreement to acquire Pennsylvania Trust on January 22. After the deal is complete, Fiduciary Trust’s assets under management will have increased to around $29 billion. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The deal is another one for Fidelity Trust International: On March 2 it finalized its acquisition of Athena Capital Advisors, a national registered investment advisor with about $6 billion in assets under management.
Pennsylvania Trust, which is based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, is an independent, employee-owned wealth management company with 60 advisors and staff serving about 1,200 client relationships.
“We have enjoyed working with clients in Philadelphia and the Main Line for a long time, and we are eager to increase our presence and service offering in this thriving region,” Lawrence A Sternkopf, president and chief operating officer of Fiduciary Trust International, said.
“Joining Fiduciary Trust International’s organization will give our advisors access to company and market research from global teams of analysts - along with cutting-edge financial planning and reporting applications, online and mobile account management tools, and trading systems built and supported by Franklin Templeton,” George C McFarland Jr, said. (He is president and chief executive officer of Pennsylvania Trust and will lead Fiduciary Trust International’s efforts in the Pennsylvania region.)
The partnership is the kind of combination that continues to take shape in the North American wealth management industry. A few days ago, ECHELON Partners, the investment bank and advisory firm, noted that industry M&A slipped in the first quarter of this year but underlying drivers remain powerful.
