Baird Capital buys majority stake in investment consultancy bfinance

Baird Capital’s U.K. private equity group bought a majority stake in bfinance Holdings Limited, a provider of investment consultancy and manager selection advice. Headquartered in London, bfinance advises clients including large corporations, public sector pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and family offices. Baird Capital is the direct private investment arm of Robert W. Baird & Co.

Press Release

Baird Capital, the direct private investment arm of Robert W. Baird & Co., announced today that its U.K. private equity group has bought a majority stake in bfinance Holdings Limited (bfinance), a leading specialist provider of investment consultancy and manager selection advice to companies and institutional investors around the World.

Bfinance is headquartered in London, with offices in Amsterdam, Montreal, Munich, Paris and Sydney. Since inception in 1999, bfinance has advised over 300 customers across over 25 countries with total assets under management (AUM) in excess of $2.5 trillion including large corporate and public sector pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, public treasury funds and family offices. The Company was awarded Investment Consultant of the Year at the 2015 and 2013 CIO European Innovation Awards Best Investment Consultant in both 2014 and 2013 by the Global Investors Investment Excellence Awards.

Baird Capital will leverage its international network and significant experience in the Business Services sector to further expand bfinance’s customer base in its existing markets, and continue to develop its international business. Baird Capital Partner, Andrew Ferguson, will join bfinance’s committed and high calibre board of directors, along with Baird Capital Operating Partner, Tim Trotter, who will serve as Chairman.

Commenting on the transaction, Andrew Ferguson, Partner Baird Capital, said:

“We are pleased to partner with the bfinance management team and look forward to applying our resources to build on the company’s success. The global investment advisory market is a very large and dynamic sector that offers great opportunities for high quality service providers. bfinance has developed a strong platform to build a leading provider of investment advisory services to this market.”

David Vafai, CEO of bfinance, commented:

“We are delighted to be working with Baird Capital going forward, to advance the position of bfinance as a leading, award winning investment consultancy. We see a number of opportunities to enhance our core offering and develop closer relationships with our clients and believe that Baird’s deep understanding of the financial services industry and their global network will be valuable as we look to drive our growth both domestically and abroad.”