Leading Irish investment guru Rory Gillen sells his firm to UK asset managers Quilter Cheviot
GillenMarkets has been acquired by the Irish subsidiary of Quilter Cheviot, with no financial details being disclosed.
The revenues of ILTB Ltd – GillenMarkets' parent company – were just under €4m for the year to the end of March.
Mr Gillen, who will be joining along with five investment advisers and their support team, said the deal had been in the pipeline for several months.
'It's a good fit, and they have the same ethos. I am no spring chicken and at a certain stage you have to decide what is the next step for yourself, and for your subscriber and client base,' the 65-year-old told the Irish Independent.
'We are relatively unique as an intermediary, in that we have eschewed the upfront commissions all the way, so we never dealt with the life companies. We have no conflicts of interest. We have 600 investment clients, with €600m assets under management.'
Mr Gillen, author of Three Steps to Investment Success, was a co-founder of Merrion Capital, but left in 2009 to set up his own business. As well as giving investment classes, he created a monthly newsletter, which now has 500 do-it-yourself investors as subscribers, paying €20 a month.
Berkshire Hathaway was one we always felt comfortable with
His sale comes in the same week as famed investor Warren Buffett steps away from Berkshire Hathaway – which was once the biggest single holding in a €50m mixed-asset fund managed by GillenMarkets.
Mr Gillen said he was always a fan of the conglomerate, as he found it easy to understand. 'You trust that the accounts are right, and that you are not going to wake up in the morning with a financial trough,' he said.
'You are fairly secure in recommending him [Buffett], as long as you understand how to value the company. I have always been a fan, and while it's not the only one, Berkshire Hathaway was one we always felt comfortable with.'
A three-year earn-out period is one of the conditions attached to the acquisition by Quilter Cheviot.
Mr Gillen owns almost three quarters of his company's stock, with the rest owned by Brian Delaney, formerly head of private clients at Goodbody Stockbrokers and before that head of equities for NCB Stockbrokers.
Quilter Cheviot opened its Dublin office in 2003, and says it is one of the country's largest wealth-management firms, offering investment management and financial planning services. Quilter oversees about €140bn in customer investments.
Andrew Fahy, chief executive of Quilter Cheviot Europe, said: 'GillenMarkets is a business that we have known and admired for many years and represents a fantastic fit for us.
'We are very excited to welcome Rory Gillen and all our new colleagues and clients to our thriving business.
'GillenMarkets has seen tremendous growth over the last number of years and we are really looking forward to working to support our new clients and their families. The transaction is really positive news for all concerned.
'This acquisition will help to build on QCE's scale and reach in the Irish market. Our ambition is to be the wealth manager of choice in Ireland and this is another milestone on that journey.'
The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
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