SYZ & CO has signed a strategic agreement with Spanish group N+1 to develop its asset management activities in Spain by providing discretionary or advisory mandates for large family
SYZ & CO has signed a strategic agreement with Spanish group N+1 to develop its asset management activities in Spain by providing discretionary or advisory mandates for large family groups or institutional clients, as well as via the management of investment funds and funds of hedge funds.
Practically, this partnership takes the form of the acquisition by SYZ & CO of a 50 per cent stake in the capital of N+1 Group’s asset management company, which shall change its corporate name to ‘N+1 SYZ Gestión’. The company currently has approximately CHF400m (EUR250m) of assets under management. The transaction is subject to approval by the CNMV, the Spanish financial markets regulatory authority.
This strategic partnership involves two players that have many features in common and complement each other extremely well. The N+1 Group has enjoyed strong growth since its establishment in late 2000 and today employs 140 staff. In addition to its asset management activities, N+1 is also a leading player in corporate finance, where it is Spain’s market leader in the medium-sized company segment. N+1 is also active in private equity transactions, renewable energy and the acquisition of significant holdings in mid-cap companies, enabling the group to be extremely familiar with Spain’s business fabric.
SYZ & CO, for its part, contributes a proven expertise in international asset management and hedge fund management, thereby enabling the management company to refine and expand its product range. The partnership is also rooted in common values that are highly important in the current environment: specialisation, independence, remaining close to the client and a clear commitment to performance. Lastly, both groups also share the distinctiveness of having been recently founded, of enjoying strong entrepreneurial cultures and of being comparable in size.
N+1 SYZ Gestión will therefore benefit from N+1’s established network of contacts and from the flow of its corporate finance deals. It will be in a strong position to work with company owners during all stages of managing their wealth, ranging from financial advisory services on selling owners’ companies through to the investment of the financial liquidity generated as a result.
The SYZ & CO Group has already been present in Spain for many years through its range of OYSTER funds as well as with its hedge fund management expertise, made available through two Spanish hedge funds. SYZ & CO is thus a well-known name in Spanish financial circles.
This additional entry into the Spanish market underlines SYZ & CO’s policy of expanding in the European market. In addition to its OYSTER funds, already registered in seven European countries, the Group is already materially present in Austria, in London and, most notably, in Italy, through Banca Albertini Syz & C.
In this respect, the Italian bank offers an interesting example of the Group’s growth potential in Spain since, in addition to its Milan headquarters, Banca Albertini Syz & C. is now also active in Rome, Bologna and Reggio Emilia. Whereas Albertini Syz had CHF 1.2bn (Euros 790m) under management at the beginning of the bank’s partnership with SYZ & CO, total assets under management now exceed CHF3.2bn (EUR2.1bn).
‘As has been the case in Italy, we have preferred entering into a partnership with a solid and well-established local partner. This enables us to provide offerings that are adapted to the specific nature of the local market’, says Alfredo Piacentini, Managing Partner at Banque SYZ & CO. ‘We are particularly satisfied with our partnership with N+1, a group we have known for many years, and with which we share the same vision and values.’
The first half of 2009 has proved rather encouraging for SYZ & CO, and unless markets undergo another brutal correction, the Group is confident in its business outlook for the full year, at the end of which it should be able to report a strong advance in annual results. Owing to its particularly strong capital base, the Group continues to implement its expansion policy, as illustrated today with this new partnership in Spain.
‘The Spanish asset management market is in the midst of dramatic change and today there is real demand for high level international asset management expertise; our alliance with SYZ & CO will enable us to successfully meet this demand’, says Santiago Eguidazu, N+1’s President. ‘SYZ & CO enjoys a strong reputation in the Spanish market and there are strong synergies between our two asset management groups.’
