Concluding a deal on Tuesday that has been ongoing since last year, Harwood CEO, Alan Durrant said the acquisition of Wellian formed a critical part of its bid to create a holistic wealth management business.
“Wellian is an excellent fit for our business bringing discretionary portfolios managed on a wide range of the platforms supported by advisers. When combined with our range of Discovery Managed Funds, we believe we can now present a full range that will meet the needs of advisers and their clients,” he said in a statement.
Under the new structure, Wellian will retain its corporate identity and branding and will continue to manage its discretionary portfolios, but it will have access to a much bigger base of support, Wellian investment director Chris Mayo told Portfolio Adviser.
Durrant will become CEO of the combined group, while Harwood’s Richard Philbin will become chief investment officer, working alongside Mayo. Wellian MD Eric Clapton, has agreed to stay on as a consultant.
According to Durrant, no timeline has been attached to the duration of Clapton’s consultancy.
“The most important thing is continuity for clients, we want to reassure clients that the same award-winning team that was representing them last week is the same as the one that is there this week,” Durrant said.
From an investment point of view, Mayo said, there will be a combined approach and, certainly there will be a commonality of holdings.
