The latest mergers, acquisitions and other corporate actions in the wealth management sector.

Julius Baer, Kairos Partners
Julius Baer has wrapped up the sale of Italian asset management business Kairos Partners to Italy-based Anima Holding.

The transaction was first announced in November 2023. The deal comprised a payment of approximately €20 million ($21.4 million) to €25 million. 

Kairos has AuM of around €4.5 billion. Kairos management retained about 35 per cent interest since 2021.

As of yesterday’s closing, Kairos has been deconsolidated from Julius Baer.

Zurich-listed Julius Baer recently reported its full-year 2023 financial results here.

Marygold & Co, Step-By-Step Financial Planners
Marygold & Co (UK) has just completed its acquisition of Step-By-Step Financial Planners (SBS) a UK-based investment advisor.

Based in Rugeley, Staffordshire, England, SBS has about ÂŁ27 million ($34 million) in assets under advice, the firm said in a statement. The firm’s core business is managing clients’ financial wealth across a diverse product range.

The acquisition is the second for Marygold & Co (UK), following on from its first in 2022 of Tiger Financial & Asset Management.

“We see here, an opportunity to leverage our highly transformative fintech capabilities within the UK and help address the recognised advice gap faced by too many consumers. SBS brings a client base, a valuable infrastructure, and additional staff to help us grow and expand our traditional advice services to new clients,” Matthew Parden (pictured), CEO of Marygold & Co (UK), said.

Marygold & Co (UK) was formed in August 2021 to make acquisitions in the UK for its parent company in the US, The Marygold Companies.  

Tabula Investment Management, Janus Henderson
Asset manager Janus Henderson has entered into an agreement under which Janus Henderson will acquire European exchange-traded funds (ETF) provider Tabula Investment Management.

The acquisition builds on Janus Henderson’s fixed income ETF proposition in the US, where it is the fourth largest provider of fixed income ETFs by assets under management. The company expects that partnering with Tabula will enable it to respond to client demand globally for its investment strategies to include a UCITS ETF wrapper. Janus Henderson said it is aiming to use its global distribution platform and enhance its partnership with its UK and European client base, which is increasingly looking at ETFs, and reaching growing markets in Latin America, the Middle East and APAC.

Janus Henderson said it expects to retain all existing Tabula products and will use the platform to launch a range of new products.

The European ETF market is undergoing a significant transformation, growing considerably and mirroring trends observed in the US market where active management is increasingly being incorporated into the ETF offering, the firm said in a statement. Nearly 10 per cent of European ETF launches last year were actively managed, with assets in European-listed managed ETFs experiencing a growth of almost 50 per cent during the same period.