Deals & People October 12, 2009

Jones Blair Group Reconnects with CAPTRUST

CAPTRUST Financial Advisors said that the principals of The Jones Blair Group of Wells Fargo Advisors will be joining the firm’s Charlotte, North Carolina, office.

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According to the announcement, the Jones Blair Group is a wealth management and retirement plan advisory team with client assets under advisement in excess of $1 billion. Led by Robert A. Jones and Michael E. Blair since its inception in 1995, CAPTRUST said that the group has consistently earned top rankings among Barron’s List of Top 1,000 Financial Advisors.  

“I am thrilled to welcome Bob and Mike as the newest shareholder partners in our firm,” said J. Fielding Miller, CAPTRUST co-founder and CEO. “The three of us began our careers working together at Interstate Johnson Lane (IJL) and this feels like we are getting the old band back together. They will join an outstanding team of CAPTRUST advisors, including Ed Dalrymple and Linda Kerschner, and will immediately strengthen our presence in North Carolina, serving the strong demand for independent and unbiased investment advice.”  

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“Speaking for Mike and me, joining CAPTRUST is akin to a homecoming,” said Robert A. Jones. “In fact, the chance to work again with Fielding, Ed, and Linda after all these years had a lot to do with our decision to join. However, equally important are the firm’s specialty focus and entrepreneurial style, both of which are more boutique in nature, while their level of investment acumen rivals that of other nationally recognized consulting firms. When you couple this with the firm’s sterling reputation and impressive roster of advisors, we knew this was where we wanted to be.” 

“The success of our firm and the service we provide our clients rest with our ability to attract and retain the industry’s top talent,” added Miller. “With the addition of Bob and Mike, there’s no question …CAPTRUST got better today!” 

CAPTRUST Financial Advisors is a registered investment advisory and retirement plan consulting firm specializing in providing strategic advisory services to retirement plan fiduciaries, executives, and high-net-worth individuals. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, the firm represents $24 billion in client assets with offices in Alabama, California, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Philadelphia, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.  

More information is available at www.captrustadvisors.com.

The Markets October 12, 2009

More Consolidation Ahead for Asset Managers

Consolidation looms for some asset managers as revenue declines continue to outweigh steep cost-cutting measures.

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A McKinsey survey found that although asset managers have seen inflows for the first time since the first half of 2007, net margins are set to fall to 9 basis points in 2009 from 10.8 bps in 2008, Reuters reported. The declines came after assets slumped and clients switched to low-cost products.

 “Although all asset managers understand the gravity of the situation, too few have reacted with sufficient vigor and fundamentally restructured their business models,” McKinsey director Pierre-Ignace Bernard said, according to Reuters.

Regulatory proposals in India and Britain to abolish fixed distributor commissions could lead to asset managers, rather than customers, paying, and this could raise the asset manager’s capital requirements, the report indicated. McKinsey said opportunities in developed markets lie in increasing longevity and the tendency of older populations to accumulate more assets on which they seek a safe return.

Even so, asset managers will find their best opportunities in emerging markets, where the number of middle class savers with high savings ratios is growing rapidly and where the penetration of financial products is still very low, according to Reuters.

The drive to cut costs will spur a wave of consolidation, which in turn will produce opportunities, with recent deals indicating synergies of 5% to 20% of the target’s revenues and a large share of the target’s costs can be achieved.

“Those who are aggressive and opportunistic stand to gain significant value from the next deal wave,” said McKinsey, according to the news report.

The latest survey is based on data from more than 300 firms with 13 trillion euros ($19. 1 billion) in assets under management, representing 50% of the global industry.

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