Wilmington Trust Acquires Wealth Advisory Firm in Boston
07 May 2007 - 11:04PM
Business Wire
Wilmington Trust Corporation (NYSE:WL) announced that it has signed
a definitive agreement to acquire Bingham Legg Advisers LLC, a
Boston-based wealth management firm that specializes in
tax-sensitive investment strategies for high-net-worth individuals
and families. This transaction adds Boston to Wilmington Trust�s
network of national Wealth Advisory Services offices and gives
clients of Bingham Legg Advisers access to Wilmington Trust�s full
spectrum of investment and other wealth management services.
�Wilmington Trust has had wealth management clients in the New
England area for many years and we have been looking for the right
opportunity in Boston for some time,� said Ted T. Cecala,
Wilmington Trust chairman and CEO. �Bingham Legg�s investment
management philosophy and team approach to serving clients are very
similar to ours. Our two firms fit well together, and I am
delighted to be entering one of the nation�s top high-net-worth
markets with such a capable, highly regarded, and well established
team already in place.� Bingham Legg Advisers (BLA) was formed in
1999 in a joint venture between what is now Bingham McCutchen LLP,
a leading international law firm, and Legg Mason, Inc., a global
asset management firm. Today BLA is a registered investment advisor
with clients throughout the United States as well as in Europe and
Asia. The firm provides investment management, tax and financial
planning, fiduciary services, and family office services. At March
31, 2007, BLA had $1.5 billion in assets under management and
another $887 million in assets under supervision. BLA�s
professionals work with their clients� legal and tax advisors to
develop asset management strategies for marketable securities,
closely held stock, real estate, limited partnership interests, and
other types of assets. Most of BLA�s client relationship managers
have law, MBA, or advanced accounting degrees and extensive
experience with complex financial arrangements. All of BLA�s
portfolio managers have earned the Chartered Financial Analyst�
designation. When the transaction is complete, BLA will take the
Wilmington Trust name and BLA�s 30 employees will become Wilmington
Trust staff members. Peter E. Simmons, BLA�s president and CEO,
will become president of Wilmington Trust�s Wealth Advisory
Services office in Boston. Wilmington Trust�s Boston office will
occupy BLA�s offices on Milk Street in the financial district. �Our
alignment with Wilmington Trust significantly broadens our
capabilities and allows us to better serve the highly sophisticated
needs of our clients,� said Mr. Simmons. �We look forward to
joining forces with one of the oldest and most respected wealth
advisory companies in the United States.� Mr. Simmons was part of
the group that formed BLA and he has been with the firm since its
inception. The BLA acquisition gives Delaware-based Wilmington
Trust a physical presence in the fifth largest high-net-worth
market in the United States. According to the TNS Financial
Affluent Market Research Program, only the markets in New York,
Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. are larger. Wilmington
Trust already has Wealth Advisory Services (WAS) offices in New
York, Los Angeles, and the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area, as well
as in five other states and its home state of Delaware, where the
company is also the state�s leading commercial and retail bank. The
transaction announced today is the latest in a series of
investments that Wilmington Trust has made in recent years to
expand its WAS business, which provides investment management,
fiduciary services, and family office services to clients in all 50
states and 35 other countries. In 2006, the company significantly
expanded its family office services practices on the East Coast;
opened new WAS offices in Connecticut, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania; and added fundamentally indexed and multi-manager
real asset mutual funds to its investment offerings. �With roots
that date to our founding in 1903 as a wealth management company,
Wilmington Trust is a natural fit for high-net-worth individuals
and families in Boston and New England,� said Rodney P. Wood,
executive vice president and head of Wilmington Trust�s WAS
business. �We look forward to working with Bingham Legg�s clients
and perpetuating the outstanding service they have come to expect.�
Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in the second
quarter of 2007, were not disclosed. BLA�s revenue and expenses
will be consolidated into Wilmington Trust�s financial statements.
The transaction is expected to be modestly accretive to Wilmington
Trust�s earnings in 2007. Wilmington Trust Corporation (NYSE:WL) is
a financial services holding company that provides Regional Banking
services throughout the Delaware Valley region, Wealth Advisory
Services for high-net-worth clients in 36 countries, and Corporate
Client Services for institutional clients in 86 countries. Its
wholly owned bank subsidiary, Wilmington Trust Company, which was
founded in 1903, is one of the largest personal trust providers in
the United States and the leading retail and commercial bank in
Delaware. Wilmington Trust Corporation and its affiliates have
offices in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,
Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, Vermont, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands, London,
Dublin, and Frankfurt. Chartered Financial Analyst is a trademark
owned by CFA Institute.
Wilmington (NYSE:WL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Wilmington (NYSE:WL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024