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

Benchmark Capital, the financial planning solutions provider which is a sister firm of Schroders, has agreed to buy the remaining minority stake in Oculus Wealth Management, a firm based in Harrogate, Yorkshire.

The size of the acquired stake was not disclosed by Benchmark in its statement yesterday.

Oculus is a boutique advice network operating an independent financial advisor-appointed representative model with 46 advisory firms.

Oculus has partnered with Benchmark since 2015, leveraging its platform, practice management and client portal technology solutions.

“We’ve worked with the team at Oculus for 10 years and have built a compelling proposition together that’s been highly successful in attracting advisors from wealth managers and private banks to set up their own practices," Ed Dymott (main picture), Benchmark's CEO, said. "Adding Oculus, alongside our own financial planning business and award-winning network, allows us to support a suite of advisor models, both independent and restricted, all built on the same efficient technology platform and end-to-end solutions.”

In December 2022, Benchmark acquired a majority stake in Oculus. The arrangement appears to have borne fruit: The number of appointed representatives in the Oculus network rose 80 per cent from the initial investment, Benchmark said in a statement. 

The Oculus management team and staff will remain with the business. 

Benchmark Capital, launched in 1993, became an independent financial network in 2003, and partnered with Schroders in 2018. (Schroders is now the sole owner of Benchmark.) Among various deals, in February, Benchmark agreed to buy regional UK firm Robertson Baxter.