Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) has announced the acquisition of Investment One Funds Management and Investment One Pensions Managers Limited subsidiaries from Investment One Financial Services Group. According to GTCO, this is in a bid to actualize its vision of being a Holding company providing one-stop shop for financial services and products.
In its announcement to the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the investing public, GTCO stated that
- the acquisition of 100% shares of Investment One Funds Management Limited was the company’s foray into the wealth management space so as to provide technology driven Funds and Investment Management Services designed to meet the unique investment needs of retail and corporate investors.
- the acquisition of 100% shares of Investment One Pension Managers Limited will enable the company provide Pension Fund administrative services to the general public.
According to Segun Agbaje, Group CEO of GTCO Plc. on the acquisition of Investment One Funds Management Limited, “We are excited about our foray into the wealth management space as it provides us with the opportunity of becoming a one-stop shop for financial services and products that will empower our customers through the course of their lives. We will focus on replication our digital-first customer-centric retail strategy to create distribution channels for wealth solutions that we will offer, both institutional and retail clients.”
Also commenting on Investment One Pension Managers Limited, Mr Agbaje said “this acquisition is in line with the evolution of the Guaranty Trust brand in becoming a fully-fledged financial services company, with the capabilities and drive to deliver end-to-end financial services to every African and African business. With over 30 years of being a trusted banker to millions of Nigerians and expertise in capital allocation to generate the highest yields for our customers and shareholders, the Pension Fund business is a natural fit for the Guaranty Trust brand. Also, our bias for the highest standards in corporate governance will ensure transparency in how we manage the funds under our management, which will ultimately make us the preferred Pension Fund Administrator , not only in the Nigerian market, but also in Africa.”
It is worthy to mention that GTCO Plc. acquired these two businesses from Investment One Financial Services Limited.
Investment One Financial Services Limited was incorporated in 2008 as GTB Asset Management Limited, a wholly owned Asset Management subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) to undertake the businesses of asset management and securities brokerage. In 2011, following new regulatory requirements, GTBank divested from the Company following a management buy out. The Company’s name was then changed to Investment One Financial Services (Investment One).
In an email to its customers, the Group CEO of Investment One had this to say about the transactions: “The process leading to the sale of the subsidiaries was a result of a review of our strategic goals and GTBank/GTCO’s restructuring into a holding company. The sale will enable us focus on delivering more value to our wealth management and investment banking customers as well as focus on executing our international expansion plans.”
“Investment One Financial Services will continue to provide exceptional Wealth Management, Securities Brokerage, Investment Banking, Trust and Digital Banking services via robust digital platforms while pursuing the next phase of our strategy to expand our business operations internationally,” he added.
There was no mention of the price for the acquisitions.