Publications

(Article from Registered Funds Alert, May 2015)

For more information, please visit the Registered Funds Alert Resource Center.

M&A Transactions

• Mariner Wealth Advisors announced that it acquired a majority interest in Pennsylvania-based Vantage Investment Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisory firm that manages over $1 billion in assets on behalf of individuals, trusts, non-profits, businesses and pension plans.
• Beacon Trust Company announced that it agreed to acquire The MDE Group, Inc. and its affiliate, Acertus Capital Management, LLC, a registered investor adviser. Beacon is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Provident Bank, which in turn is a subsidiary of Provident Financial Services, Inc., an entity with approximately $8.4 billion in assets. The combined entities will manage, on a pro forma basis, approximately $2.5 billion in assets.
• NASDAQ OMX announced that it will acquire Dorsey, Wright & Associates, LLC, a firm focusing on data analytics, passive indexing and smart beta strategies, for $225 million. As a result, Nasdaq Global Indexes will become one of the largest providers of smart beta indexes with nearly $45 billion in assets benchmarked to its family of Smart Beta indexes and more than $105 billion benchmarked to all Nasdaq Indexes.
• Ares Management, L.P. announced that it completed its acquisition of Energy Investors Funds. As a result of the transaction, the Ares Private Equity Group has approximately $14 billion of assets under management.
• Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. announced that it reached an agreement to acquire Woodway Financial Advisors, a private wealth and trust company based in Houston, Texas that manages over $1.6 billion in private wealth client assets.
• Belgium’s Bank Degroof announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding to merge with Petercam. The combined private banking entity would hold €47 billion assets under management.
• Tavistock Group plc announced that it entered into a conditional contract to acquire Standard Financial Group Limited, the holding company of Financial Limited, a financial advisory business. The acquisition will create a top-ten advisory group with over 300 financial advisers across the UK and 65,000 clients. The combined group’s turnover will be over £30m and assets under advice are projected to grow from the current £400 million to over £3 billion.
• AMG Wealth Partners, LP, a subsidiary of Affiliated Managers Group, Inc., announced that it entered into an agreement to acquire a majority equity interest in Baker Street Advisors LLC, a San Francisco-based wealth management firm that advises approximately $6 billion in assets. AMG is a global asset management company that, through its affiliates, manages approximately $626 billion of assets.
• Guggenheim Partners announced the sale of Guggenheim Global Trading to an investor group led by GGT management. The new entity will operate under the name Deimos Asset Management and will be supported by an equity investment from Ares Management, L.P.
• B. Riley Financial, Inc. announced that it acquired MK Capital Advisors, LLC, an investment adviser that provides advisory services to ultra-high-net-worth families and individuals. The acquisition marks B. Riley’s expansion into Wealth Management. B. Riley’s other subsidiaries include B. Riley & Co. LLC, an investment bank which provides corporate finance, research, and sales & trading to corporate, institutional and high net worth individuals; Great American Group, LLC a provider of advisory and valuation services, asset disposition and auction solutions, and commercial lending services; and B. Riley Asset Management, LLC, a provider of investment products to institutional and high net worth investors.
• BAWAG P.S.K. announced the closing of its sale of BAWAG P.S.K. INVEST, its asset management unit, which has €5.0 billion of assets under management, to Amundi Group SA. The company’s name will remain BAWAG P.S.K.INVEST, with a reference “Member of Amundi Group.” In addition, Amundi and BAWAG P.S.K. entered into a long-term partnership where BAWAG P.S.K. will distribute Amundi’s funds and continue to distribute INVEST products via its physical and digital distribution networks. BAWAG P.S.K. has the largest centrally managed branch network with 500 branches across Austria. Amundi will continue to operate INVEST in Austria.
• Man Group plc announced that it entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the investment management business of NewSmith LLP, an equity investment manager with $1.2 billion of funds under management.
• Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) announced that it entered into a merger agreement to acquire Sterne Agee Group, Inc. for approximately $150 million. Sterne’s 730 financial advisors and independent representatives and $20 billion in assets under management will join Stifel’s Global Wealth Management segment. As part of the transaction, Sterne will be selling the FBC Mortgage business back to its founders and will be operating its institutional equity and investment banking business as a stand-alone business until it is spun off.
• Raymond James Financial, Inc. announced that it reached an agreement to acquire Cougar Global Investments, Ltd., a Toronto-based investment adviser. As a result of the transaction, Raymond James’ wholly owned subsidiary, Eagle Asset Management, expects to offer Cougar’s global asset allocation strategies to Eagle clients worldwide.
• Threadneedle Investments announced that its range of multi-manager funds will be transitioned to Seven Investment Management (7IM) to merge with funds managed by 7IM.
• Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation, the parent company of Peapack-Gladstone Bank, announced that it reached an agreement to acquire Wealth Management Consultants (NJ), LLC.
• Vontobel Asset Management, the asset management division of the Swiss private bank, announced that it reached an agreement to acquire a 60% interest in TwentyFour Asset Management LLP, with the remaining interest to be acquired by Vontobel over a longer term. The companies will have a combined CHF 17 billion of total fixed income assets under management.
• Genstar Capital, a middle market private equity firm based in San Francisco with total capital commitments of over $3 billion, announced that it agreed to acquire a majority interest in Mercer Advisors Inc., a Santa Barbara-based total wealth management firm with 15 branch offices across the country and approximately $6 billion in assets under management, from private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners LLC.

Closed-End Fund Initial Public Offerings

Calamos Dynamic Convertible and Income Fund (NASDAQ: CCD)

• Amount Raised: $555 million
• Investment Objective/Polices: The Fund’s investment objective is to provide total return through a combination of capital appreciation and current income. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest primarily in a portfolio of convertible securities (including synthetic convertibles, which are single instruments, or multiple instruments held in concert, that are composed of two or more securities with investment characteristics that, when taken together, resemble those of traditional convertible securities) and debt and equity income-producing securities, as well as other investments that generate current income and dividends, including but not limited to common and preferred stocks, investment grade and below investment grade (high-yield or “junk”) bonds, loans, equity-linked notes, and floating rate securities (referred to throughout as “income-producing securities”). Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s managed assets will be invested in convertible securities and income producing securities, with at least 50% of the Fund’s managed assets invested in convertible securities (including synthetic convertible securities). The Fund will terminate on the fifteenth anniversary of the effective date of the registration statement, March 26, 2030, absent shareholder approval to amend the limited term provision of the Fund’s Declaration of Trust, as provided therein.
• Manager: Calamos Advisors LLC
• Book-runners: Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC

Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. (NYSE: GSBD)

• Amount Raised: $138 million
• Investment Objective/Polices: The Fund’s investment objective is to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien, first lien/last-out unitranche and second lien debt, unsecured debt, including mezzanine debt and, to a lesser extent, investments in equities. The Fund invests primarily in U.S. middle-market companies, meaning companies with earnings before interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of between $5 million and $75 million annually. The Fund may from time to time invest in larger or smaller companies.
• Manager: Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P.
• Book-runners: Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC