Acquisitive private bank buys into firms in India, Spain and Switzerland. Zurich-based private-banking and asset-management firm EFG International plans to enter India's wealth-management market by taking a 75% stake in Mumbai-based Stratcap Securities. EFG says the acquisition creates a complement to its existing services to expatriate Indians in non-Indian Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

EFG's move into India coincides with an end-of-year surge in purchases that includes a grab in Spain and another on its home turf of Switzerland.

"India is an attractive opportunity for us, reflecting dynamic economic growth and strong entrepreneurial wealth creation," says Lonnie Howell, EFG's head of private banking.

On the prowl

Stratcap offers brokerage and investment-management services to private and institutional clients. It has about $607 million in assets under management and a staff of 24. Its product roster includes mutual funds, equities and fixed income.

Atul Sud, Stratcap's founder and (to date) majority owner will become chairman of EFG Wealth Management India. Shankar Dey, a veteran of Citigroup and NM Rothschild, comes in as the new EFG entity's CEO.

The tie-in with EFG is "good news for all those associated with Stratcap," according to Sud, who founded the firm in 1995. "Employees can look forward to becoming part of an organization with ambitious plans for India, effectively taking the business to a higher level," he says. "Our clients stand to benefit from an enhanced offering, and can rest assured that we remain committed to providing the same excellent service."

India, whose real GDP increased 8.8% in 2006, saw a 20.5% increase in its population of U.S.-dollar millionaires last year. Other international players that have recently entered India's wealth-management market (or bolstered its presence there) include New York-based AIG, Zurich-based Credit Suisse and Australia's Macquarie Bank.

Meanwhile EFG continues to expand in Europe. This past week it agreed to buy 75% of A&G Group, a Madrid-based wealth manager and Lugano, Switzerland-based wealth manager and structured-products originator and distributor On Finance. A&G, which provides estate-planning, investment, brokerage, insurance and pension services, has about $3.6 billion in assets under management. On Finance has about $649 million in assets under management.

EFG has provided no financial details of any of its recent deals.

Earlier this month, EFG agreed to buy U.K.-based hedge-fund manager Marble Bar Asset Management. Other 2007 acquisitions include Toronto-based Bull Wealth Management, Hamilton, Bermuda-based Capital Management Advisors and Miami-based PRS Group. In October 2007, EFG established a structured-products unit called EFG Financial Products.

EFG International is a member of Geneva-based EFG Group. It operates in 50 locations in 30 countries. Boston-based Fidelity has a 5% stake in the company. -FWR

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