Perpetual buys Laminar Capital to bolster corporate trust operations

Perpetual will beef up its corporate trust division after snapping up specialist debt markets and advisory business Laminar Capital.

Perpetual, led by Rob Adams, has bought Laminar Capital as part of the wealth manager’s expansion strategy. Picture: Supplied

Wealth manager Perpetual will beef-up its corporate trust division after snapping up specialist debt markets and advisory business Laminar Capital for an undisclosed sum.

Announcing the deal on Tuesday, Perpetual boss Rob Adams pointed to Laminar’s digital capabilities and proprietary investment management platform as key attractions of the business.

“In Laminar, we’ve identified a fast-growing debt markets and advisory business with a compelling digital capability,” Mr Adams said.

This capability would provide the wealth manager “with a unique opportunity to accelerate Perpetual Corporate Trust’s position as a specialist fiduciary and digital solutions provider to the banking and financial services industry”, he added.

Laminar — which has funds under management and advice of $8bn and a specialist fixed income digital platform Treasury Direct with $21bn of assets under administration — had developed a strong reputation as trusted adviser, PCT group executive Richard McCarthy said.

“One of the innovative and attractive components of Laminar’s business is its proprietary investment management platform, Treasury Direct, which enables clients to manage multiple investment and debt portfolios on a single platform,” Mr McCarthy said.

“The combination of our two digital platforms — Perpetual Intelligence and Treasury Direct — will provide the ability to deliver a broader range of digital, treasury and debt markets solutions to our existing and future clients, while accelerating the build out of our digital product offering.”

Perpetual has been on a spending spree this year, with its Laminar deal coming less than two months since its acquisition of boutique wealth advisory Jacaranda Financial Planning.

It has also bought Boston-based ESG investment firm Trillium for $64m and a 75 per cent stake in Texas-based US investment manager Barrow Hanley for $463m.

Laminar, founded in 2009 by managing director Cameron Rae, developed Treasury Direct to deliver clients an online portfolio management tool that digitally enabled the automation of Treasury and fixed income management.

The acquisition will also provide PCT access to new specialised capabilities, including Laminar’s ESG Risk Score, which is integrated into its Treasury Direct digital platform.

Following the acquisition, PCT’s data and analytics business, will become a stand-alone division of PCT, called Perpetual Digital, focused on “providing innovative digital, treasury, debt markets and advisory solutions to clients”.

Laminar will retain its team of 13, including nine advisers. Mr Rae will also continue with the business.

“We are excited to join Perpetual Corporate Trust’s innovation journey. Perpetual’s trusted heritage, strong client relationships and deep capabilities allow us to further deliver market leading and efficient solutions for our clients,” Mr Rae said.

“Together, we look forward to continuing to support our clients’ strategies through the provision of service excellence and innovative digital solutions.”