MitionOptimal and Isle of Man-based financial adviser Blythe Financial have decided to part ways after an unsuccessful integration.
At the end of 2018 the investment manager and the financial adviser both decided that the Isle of Man firm would buy itself back from Miton and go back to being Blythe Financial.
Scott Campbell, managing director of Miton, told International Adviser: “We bought their business in January 2017 and they became our Isle of Man office.
“We worked hard to integrate them into the group, but after nearly two years we hadn’t really integrated properly, and the decision was for them to go back and be Blythe Financial and us to carry on.”
Both firms said that different outlooks and mindsets were at the heart of the reverse acquisition.
Mutual decision
“We reached the conclusion that what we were trying to do with our business was different to what Miton were trying to do with theirs,” a spokesperson from Blythe Financial told IA.
“We had a frank conversation with Miton at the end of 2018 and we came to an agreement for us to buy the business back.
“We had different outlooks, that was the key difference. What we were trying to do and wanted to do was different from what they were trying to do and, ultimately, when you get to a position where you’re on different pages, I guess you kind of realise you’re struggling to pull it back together.
“We retain our discretionary fund management (DFM) authorisation and keep our advisory capacity because, at the end of the day, our business is about looking after clients.”
Campbell confirmed to IA that Miton no longer has an Isle of Man office, with its offshore DFM activities now being centred on Jersey and Guernsey. It also has offices in South Africa, Singapore and the UK.
