Morgan Stanley sells Quilter

26 January 2012 | By Rob Langston

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is selling wealth manager Quilter to private equity firm Bridgepoint.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed but Quilter has been sold “in partnership” with the management team. The sale is expected to complete in the first quarter.

Quilter had a total of £7.6bn in funds under management at December 31 last year and has 13 offices across the UK, Dublin and Jersey. It has 16 regional sales managers responsible for IFA liaison and 100 investment managers.

Quilter chief executive Martin Baines says: “This is an exciting move for us, not least because Bridgepoint is very enth- usiastic about our management team and our strategy.”

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney was reported to have also been in talks with private equity firm Permira but it is understood that these discussions collapsed.

Hargreaves Lansdown investment manager Ben Yearsley says: “Quilter was an odd fit with a global bank like Morgan Stanley as it is a UK-focused, regional firm. This move should incentivise the team to perform and grow the business.”

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