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

Howden, Barnett Waddingham
Howden, a global insurance and employee benefits intermediary group, has just acquired Barnett Waddingham, a UK professional services consultancy which manages risk, pensions, investment and insurance.

The acquisition will bring pension and related advice capability to Howden, providing a platform for expansion in global markets, the firm said in a statement.

The acquisition will also double Howden’s global employee benefits business in terms of employees, with about 4,000 experts generating a combined revenue approaching £500 million ($647 million) worldwide. The merged business will offer a range of employee benefits and pensions advisory services to corporate clients, from multinational corporations to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the private and public sectors. It will also provide health, life and specialist pension products to individuals. 

Over the last five years, Howden has made investments worth £2.4 billion to expand its UK footprint. 

“As we always do, we have waited for the right partner to expand our capabilities, with experts who are entrepreneurial and culturally aligned, and with whom we can do more together,” David Howden, CEO, Howden, said. “Together, we will take a leading position in our home markets of the UK and Ireland in employee benefits as well as in insurance broking. In the UK, there will be over 10,000 of us in our wider business, across more than 200 offices. We’re serving millions of individuals, businesses and organisations, including over two-thirds of the FTSE 100, bringing the same unique energy and approach to all our clients.” 

The group operates in 55 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the US, Australia and New Zealand, employing 20,000 people and handling $44.7 billion of premium on behalf of clients.