IQ-EQ has boosted its US strategy with the acquisition of Constellation Advisers, a co-sourced and outsourced investment management services provider.
The portfolio company believes that the deal reinforces its commitment to the US market, which is the largest and fastest growing fund services and regulatory compliance market in the world. It also hopes that the purchase of Constellation Advisers will strengthen its position as a key provider to the niche community of alternative asset manager, and one step closer to its ultimate ambition of being the global leader of independent investors services.
This latest agreement follows the integration of Blue River Partners LLC which it acquired last year.
Constellation Advisers was founded by Boris Onefater (chief executive officer and co-founder) and Greg Farrington (president and co-founder). Headquartered in New York with five additional US offices, the firm offered a boutique style service, and customized solutions to traditional and alternative investment management firms. Its services cover private equity, real estate, private credit, venture capital, hedge funds and family offices.
Following the deal, the process of integrating Constellation Advisers into the Group’s U.S. businesses will begin immediately. IQ-EQ will retain the Constellation Advisers brand name in the short to medium term and will later rebrand the business to IQ-EQ as part of its longer-term business plan.
Mr Onefater and Mr Farrington will become part of IQ-EQ and assume the roles of chairman, global head of outsourced services, and president and head of outsourced Services, Americas, respectively.
Mark Fordyce, chief executive officer of Blue River and IQ-EQ US. Funds, will assume overall responsibility for the group’s expanded U.S. operations.
IQ-EQ’s newly combined US business now totals more than 320 US based employees with scale in regulatory compliance, fund administration and outsourced services, providing the group with cross-sell opportunities and a footprint for future growth in the US.
Services provided by the business include outsourcing of accounting, CFO and financial services alongside outsourced COO services such as middle office operations and trade support, chiefly to the buy-side dealing with the public and liquid markets. It will also focus on compliance and regulatory services like program design, surveillance and ongoing maintenance. Its business advisory and consulting services will support projects including fund set-up, due diligence, strategy development and wind downs.
Commenting on the transaction, IQ-EQ Group executive chairman Serge Krancenblum said: “This latest transaction represents yet another significant milestone made possible by the ongoing investment in our U.S. operations and takes us one step closer to realizing our longer term commercial ambitions in the region. Constellation Advisers’ sector expertise and singular focus on delivering client service excellence make them a strong and natural fit for our business and an important part of our U.S. expansion plans.”
Mr Onefater added: “Greg and I along with the entire Constellation management team are delighted to join the IQ-EQ family. Our two firms share the same entrepreneurial spirit and we look forward to working with Blue River here in the United States and IQ-EQ globally to help our clients meet their objectives not only in the U.S., but around the world.”
