Merger to Create $73B Alternative Investment Firm
FS Investments and Portfolio Advisors did not immediately disclose the financial terms of their deal.
Alternative assets manager FS Investments says it is merging with Portfolio Advisors in a deal that could more than double its asset level to $73 billion. The transaction, the financial details of which were not disclosed, would make Portfolio Advisors an institutional investments unit of FS.
Currently, FS has some $35 billion in assets under management, while Portfolio Advisors, a private asset specialist, has over $38 billion in AUM.
“This transaction is transformative for FS Investments, accelerating our efforts to broaden our institutional client base, diversify our offerings to include growth-oriented products such as private equity, and deepen our in-house investment capabilities,” according to FS chairman and CEO Michael Forman.
FS is based in Philadelphia, and its products include nontraded REITs and closed-end mutual funds. Portfolio Advisors is headquartered in Darien, Connecticut, and distributes its funds via selling agreements with wirehouse firms, RIAs and independent broker-dealers; it recently launched a private-equity fund for wealth management and institutional clients.
“This partnership provides significant new resources that will help support our global institutional clients,” said Brian Murphy, co-founder of Portfolio Advisors, in a statement. “At the same time, FS Investments’ deep product development expertise and robust distribution platform will bring our leading private markets investment strategies to a broader audience.”
Separately, Sun Life said Thursday that had wrapped up its majority acquisition of Advisors Asset Management, which sells alternative investments through wirehouses, RIAs and broker-dealers.
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