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

Kingswood Holdings, Barry Fleming & Partners
Wealth manager Kingswood Holdings this week acquired Barry Fleming and Partners, a specialist in tax, trusts and investment planning.

Based in Berkshire, Barry Fleming & Partners advises individuals, companies, trustees and charities, using its strength in tax expertise to take a 360-degree-view of a financial situation to give comprehensive advice, the firm said in a statement. It has over £140 million ($173 million) assets under administration.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, boosts Kingswood's global funds under advice/management to £11.3 billion matching its ambition to grow as an international wealth and investment management group, the firm continued.

Welcoming the move, David Lawrence, Kingswood Group CEO, said: “Barry Fleming & Partners has a deep rich history and has established itself as a reputable, dynamic and client-centric business over the past 47 years.” 

“The depth of relationships with their clients is truly evident through their extensive reputation. Extending into Berkshire is a further acknowledgement of our desire to grow our footprint,” he continued.

“Our growth strategy is important and we are strongly committed to supporting more clients. We have a further three acquisitions under exclusive due diligence that we expect to close in the coming months, plus additional transactions that are currently under negotiation,” he said.

Lisa Chantrey, managing director of Barry Fleming & Partners added: “Kingswood will offer us the platform to grow and develop our legacy.” 

“The changing times of financial planning and regulation are burdensome for smaller companies and the move to work with Kingswood will help spread the load of regulation and administration. The team remains unchanged and the move will allow us to concentrate even more of our time on our clients – a central experience at Barry Fleming and Partners,” she said.

Kingswood, which has £9.5 billion of assets under advice and management in the UK, has offices across the UK and overseas in South Africa and the US. See here for Kingswood's recent acquisitions.