CIBC Acquires Prominent US Wealth Manager

Tom Burroughes

3 September 2019

acquired the Atlantic Trust business in 2013, one of the larger M&A deals in North American wealth management since the 2008 financial crash - an example of the continuing brisk pace of mergers and acquisitions in the sector. A related concern is how advisors exit and transition out of their businesses as they head towards retirement, particularly at a time of rising regulatory costs and changing client demands.

"The investment management business has changed, particularly for private wealth holders over the past 15 years. It has become commoditized without the nuances required in the US for private as opposed to institutional customers. Advisors need to consider whether they want to take the risks inherent in investment management without world class due diligence infrastructure when there is such great need for meaningful counseling around the issues facing individuals and families of wealth. Our decision was to place the investment management firmly in a world-class private wealth institution and separate it from the very counseling my family has offered for three generations and I personally find so satisfying," Lowenhaupt told FWR in a call yesterday.