Major Swedish wealth manager Söderberg & Partners has taken a “significant” minority stake in expanding Bath-based Chartered Financial Planner Fidelius as it continues its UK expansion drive.

Söderberg says the deal is one its biggest investments in the UK and its seventh stake-building deal in the UK Financial Planning and wealth management sectors.

The cost of the stake has not been disclosed and the investment is subject to FCA approval.

Fidelius Group has £1.75bn under advice and 158 employees based at its offices in Bath, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Mansfield and London. Fidelius has itself been on the expansion trail in recent years.

In 2020 it acquired two Financial Planning businesses from Pacific Asset Management (PAM) in a swap deal. PAM’s Financial Planning firms Chartered Financial Management and Zen Wealth LLP became part of the Fidelius Group. 

In November 2022 Fidelius Group moved into new headquarters at a landmark office building at No 1, Bath Quays, Bath.

In 2021 International wealth manager deVere Group set up a “strategic partnership” with Fidelius to serve expats returning to the UK. A new brand called Fidelius deVere was launched to provide bespoke Financial Planning to returning expat clients. 

Fidelius has offices in Bath, Cheltenham, Chelmsford, London and Mansfield and offers wealth management, employee benefits, mortgages, as well as a specialism in advice to returning expats. It was launched in 1998 and has grown through organic and M&A expansion.

Söderberg, one of the Nordic region’s biggest wealth managers, has rapidly been building up its UK presence. Recently Söderberg & Partners announced it had purchased stakes in London wealth manager Vintage and Croydon-based PK Financial. Last year the Swedish financial adviser took a majority stake in Timothy James & Partners and minority stakes in Cambridge-based Dartington Wealth Management, Generation and Atherton York in North London.

The Swedish firm entered the UK adviser market in 2023 and said it aims to partner with up to 1,000 financial advisers in the UK within five years. Söderberg & Partners was founded in Sweden 2004 and has more than 4,000 employees in 110 offices in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Spain, and more than £60bn in assets under management and advice. 

Jim Grant, CEO of Fidelius said: “In Sӧderberg & Partners we have found a partner who sees the world the same way we do. I am very excited to have Sӧderberg working alongside us to support Fidelius in investing into smaller entrepreneurial firms who require the correct support and resource in order to realise their true growth potential.

"It can be hard for Financial Planning firms to raise quality investment to allow for growth, but with Sӧderberg we can help make this a reality. We look forward to talking to firms, teams or individuals who need a bridge to allow them to build a business focused on growth and future value.

"The whole team at Fidelius is incredibly excited about the next phase of our journey and we are delighted to have found Sӧderberg & Partners to work with moving forward.”

Gustaf Rentzhog, CEO at Söderberg & Partners, said: “Fidelius is a business with significant upside potential. With a strong brand and an exceptionally experienced management team, I have no doubt that this already successful and growth-oriented business will go from strength to strength.”