Acquisitive Swedish wealth manager Söderberg & Partners has bought Financial Planning solutions provider Benchmark Capital from Schroders for an undisclosed sum.
Schroders, which first invested in Benchmark in 2016, said the sale was part of its strategy to, “simplify the group.”
Benchmark currently supports around 1,000 advisers across the UK. It partners with 200 financial advisory firms and has £31bn of assets under influence.
Gustaf Rentzhog, CEO of Söderberg & Partners, said the firm saw lots of potential for Benchmark.
He said: “Achieving greater scale is important for the future to enable us to offer efficient solutions and world-class services to both advisers and clients - particularly when it comes to technology. This acquisition is an important piece of the puzzle, and one that we believe we can realise together with Benchmark.”
Schroders said the sale would accelerate the strategic reshaping of its wealth management businesses, centred on Cazenove Capital in the UK and Schroders Wealth Management internationally.
The deal is subject to FCA approval and is due to be completed by Q4.
Oliver Gregson, CEO of wealth management at Schroders, said: “We are building a modern, global and truly client-led wealth management business serving high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, family offices, charities, endowments and foundations.”
Söderberg & Partners was founded in Sweden in 2004 and has a presence in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain and the United Kingdom.
It has more than 5,500 employees and after the acquisition of Benchmark, £140bn in assets under management and assets under advice, of which around £60bn relates to its UK operations. It entered the UK market in 2024 and has since snapped up a number of firms. It has taken substantial stakes in four Financial Planning firms this year, including Scarborough-based MoneyWeb Financial Advisers, Hertfordshire-based Oakwood Asset Management and Lincolnshire-based Liberty Partnership in March.
In February Söderberg invested in Artorius Wealth Management, entering into the UK high net worth and family office space.
Benchmark in turn has been busy in recent years acquiring other firms. In February it acquired two advice businesses, Caroline Banks & Associates (CB&A) and Verum Financial LLP (Verum). It previously acquired Harrogate-based Oculus Wealth Management, Hayward Heath-based Champain Financial Services, Swindon-based Unique Financial Planning among others.