(31 January 2007 – Australia) HBOS wealth management arm, St Andrews Australia, has made what it describes as a “trophy acquisition” in boutique fund manager Whittaker Macnaught.The deal will see HBOS gain exclusive rights to the business which has 12,000 clients and funds under management (FUM) of A$1.5 billion.
St Andrews’s managing director John Van Der Wielen said the acquisition catapulted the company away from its primarily organic growth strategy.
Queensland based Whittaker Macnaught’s FUM of A$1.5 billion will boost St Andrews’s overall FUM to about $2 billion.
Whittaker Macnaught is owned by successful financial advice author Noel Whittaker and Cheryl Macnaught.